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Tennessee receiver Squirrel White inks NIL deal with Weigel's Stores

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Squirrel White
Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Squirrel White won over many Tennessee fans when he enrolled just for his nickname.

He flashed what he could bring to the Volunteer offense in the Orange Bowl, scoring a touchdown and racking up 108 yards in the win over Clemson. The backup in the slot last year to Jalin Hyatt, expectations are high for the speedster entering the fall.

Weigl’s Stores are planning for the second-year receiver to find the end zone often. The former four-star recruit has inked a season-long NIL partnership with the convenience store chain spread throughout East Tennessee.

As part of his promotional campaign, each time White scores a touchdown this year, fans can pick up a six-pack of any Coca-Cola product at their local Weigl’s location. Fans must have a MyWeigel‘s rewards account to access the promotion. With 68 locations in across The Volunteer State, plenty of Volunteer faithful will be rooting for the 5-foot-10, 165-pound receiver to connect with quarterback Joe Milton for a touchdown. Full terms of White’s endorsement deal were not released.

The NIL agreement was announced Monday, with plans for the touchdown campaign fully released Tuesday. This is not Weigl’s first time spending marketing dollars in the NIL space. Tennessee baseball infielder Maui Ahuna agreed to terms on an NIL agreement in February. Featured in a 30-second commercial decked out in a Tennessee white and orange style uniform, the jersey also featured Weigel’s name in a script font that mimics what the Volunteers wear.

Evan Russell, Zakai Zeigler and Tess Darby have also entered into deals with the chain. Weigl’s owns and operate Broadacre Dairy, which processes milk, tea, juices, and eggnog for their convenience stores, as well as its own bakery, Red Barn Foods.

Expectations high for Squirrel White

Learning behind the Biletnikoff Award winner in Hyatt last year, White led all SEC freshmen with average yards per catch at 16. He made a name for himself as a return specialist, too. This offseason he was clocked at 23.4 miles per hour on the Catapult system.

With Hyatt and Cedric Tillman now in the NFL, White and Bru McCoy are expected to become the top targets for Milton. White finished the 2022 season with two 100-yard receiving games, while tied sixth nationally in 50-plus yard catches with four.

Much of Hyatt’s success last year was the ability to stretch the field and burn defenders with his speed. The formula worked, leading Tennessee to an 11-2 record and its first win over Alabama since 2007. White is now becoming a leader in the wide receiver room, helping develop depth at the position for the Vols.

“I think we have elite run-after-catch ability, you’ve got different types of guys,” New offensive coordinator Joey Halzle recently said. “You’ve got Squirrel (White) who’s a 10.4 [100m dash] guy, and I might’ve just shorted him his time and how fast he actually ran, but that elite level speed that can run around an entire defense.”

Squirrel White’s growing NIL brand

Since enrolling at Tennessee in January 2022, the receiver has worked with Spyre Sports Group and its Tennessee-driven NIL collective The Volunteer Club. Along with signing an NIL deal with the collective, he has promoted a number of nonprofits across his social media profiles.

Spyre has executed more than 1,400 deals since July 2021. They currently have 90 athletes on active contracts. Spyre told On3 in February the Volunteer Club had procured $13.5 million in NIL deals. 

White has a $218,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks in the top 220 of the college football NIL rankings. If he has a similar breakout season to Hyatt’s a year ago, he’s bound to see numerous brand deals come his way. His social media following of 10,000 is set to grow, too.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.