Oklahoma State softball inks teamwide NIL deal with regional Internet provider

After finishing 48-14, winning the Big 12 Conference and advancing to the NCAA Women’s College World Series in 2022, Oklahoma State is firmly established as one of the top softball programs in the country. So, it’s no surprise brands have been eager to partner with Cowgirls softball stars through NIL deals.

In August 2022, Seth Wadley’s auto dealerships in Perry, Okla., struck a team-wide NIL deal with the entire Cowgirls roster. And now another business – high-speed Internet provider Bluepeak – has agreed to a teamwide deal with the Cowgirls. Both deals were secured on behalf of Oklahoma State Athletics by its multimedia rightsholder, Learfield’s Cowboy Sports Properties. Terms of the latest deal were not released.

“This is a great opportunity for Cowgirl Softball and rewards these girls for the impact they’re having on and off the field and the excitement they’ve created for their program,” Barry Hinson, OSU Associate AD for Name, Image & Likeness, said in a news release. “Bluepeak really stepped up to the plate, and their investment in our student-athletes will pay huge dividends for the future of our program.”

According to CEO Rich Fish, Bluepeak prides itself on bringing fast, affordable and reliable fiber internet to communities that have been overlooked and under-invested in, like Stillwater and several others throughout Oklahoma.

Oklahoma State players worthy of major NIL deals

Teamwide deals are becoming commonplace in the NIL ecosystem. Over the past few months, we’ve seen major deals struck for most major college sports, including a deal last week that included 115 football players at Oklahoma.

But this teamwide deal at Oklahoma State is another example of how brands continue to turn to successful women student-athletes and their teams as perfect partners in the NIL space.

Last fall, the Michigan State women’s gymnastics team agreed to a teamwide deal with This is Sparta!, a Spartan-focused NIL collective. The MSU student-athletes are getting paid $5,000 each as part of the deal. Plus, Level 13 announced it signed the entire Texas Tech women’s basketball team to agreements. Furthermore, collectives at Marquette and SMU struck deals with the entire women’s basketball teams at their schools.

Also, adidas aggressively executed deals with student-athletes across the country to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

The popularity of Oklahoma State softball has skyrocketed in recent years. The Cowgirls were selected for multiple nationally televised broadcasts during the regular season. They also hosted the 2022 NCAA Regional and Super Regional games at Cowgirl Stadium in Stillwater. Crowds at games outgrew stadium capacity so much that OSU had to add new seating to accommodate all the fans.

The Cowgirls have also advanced to three straight Women’s College World Series.

“We deeply admire the competitive spirit of this Cowgirls’ team,” Fish in a release. “At Bluepeak, we aim to bring more competition for broadband consumers by building cutting-edge fiber to places that have needed more, better options to connect to the rest of the world for too long. That’s why this opportunity to support these student-athletes and this great community is the perfect fit for Bluepeak.”

Softball stars have big NIL opportunities

According to recent data from Opendorse, softball continues to emerge as one of the more popular sports for brands to engage with through NIL. On average Opendorse says softball student-athletes are earning $3,370 per deal.

Furthermore, the top 20 players in the On3 College Softball NIL Rankings have an average On3 NIL Valuation of $33,785. At the top of the list is Alabama star pitcher Montana Fouts, who has an On3 NIL Valuation of $145,000. That valuation also puts her at No. 20 overall in the On3 Women’s NIL 100.

Oklahoma State star pitcher Kelly Maxwell has an On3 NIL Valuation of $19,300. She was named Co-Pitcher of the Year in the Big 12 this past spring.