T.J. Finley, Brevin Galloway NIL partnerships starting point for Amazon

When T.J. Finely announced his partnership with Amazon earlier this month, those involved in the college sports landscape took notice.

One of the world’s largest companies, Amazon pocketed $469.8 billion in profits last year. Owned by Jeff Bezos, Amazon has revolutionized the world of online sales platforms. And now it’s getting aggressive in the world of sports.

Starting this fall, NFL Thursday Night Football will be exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Amazon also made sure to hire some of the industry’s top talent to do so. Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will be calling games.

In Thursday’s announcement of the Big Ten’s new TV contract, commissioner Kevin Warren kept the door open for the conference’s games to stream one day on Amazon. The company that started off as a marketplace is becoming a major player in streaming.

And now it has stepped into the NIL space.

For all the speculation about which brands would take advantage of the new world of NIL in college athletics, Amazon could be primed to make an unprecedented run. The company has taken baby steps, however, with the rollout of deals with Finley and Clemson basketball player Brevin Galloway.

“Very thoughtful, very methodical about what they’re doing,” said Corey Staniscia, who works as Dreamfield’s external affairs director. “I’ll tell you what — I’ve been very impressed with with them.”

Insight into Amazon’s NIL strategy

Both Finley and Galloway’s partnerships with Amazon were brokered by Dreamfield. Founded by former college football quarterback McKenzie Milton and D’Eriq King, the NIL deal-making platform has morphed into a marketing agency of sorts. The platform has established relationships with Mercedes-Benz, Bolay, First Watch, Yuengling and, of course, Amazon. While Dreamfield has since helped launch collectives across the country, its main goal is to be the third-party assisting brands in executing deals.

The conversation with the online marketplace started this past fall, as early as October, Staniscia said. Amazon didn’t rush into signing contracts. The company wanted to get its strategy down pat before any announcements were made or even making contact with players. As part of Dreamfield’s role in the partnership, the NIL company was tasked with identifying athletes which fit Amazon’s brand.

In its first two deals in NIL, Amazon has been intentional in which athletes it partners with. Finley and Galloway have large social media followings, but that’s not the only piece for which Amazon was looking.

“They like to kind of stay off the radar and just kind of do what they want to do,” Staniscia said. “But obviously, they wanted to work with some pretty big-time athletes. That was clear by the athletes that they hired. They didn’t want to just work with a low-follower-count athletes, they want to work with pretty prominent individuals.”

Galloway announced his deal in late July. Finley followed three days later. As part of their contracts with Amazon, each athlete posted a paid partnership on Instagram with promotions for free trials of Prime Student.

From there, they publicized their own personalized merchandise, which is for sale on the online marketplace. While Staniscia could not provide details on the contracts, it’s clear that Amazon Fashion is helping the athletes create their own apparel. How much commission the athletes are able to take on sales from their merchandise is also unclear.

Ranging from sweatshirts to cell phone pop grips, each athlete has his own unique pieces of merchandise up on the marketplace. Galloway even has throw pillows with the message, “Men who talk health.” Items range from $17 to $35 and are available for shipping through Amazon Prime. 

Finley was arrested just two days after his Amazon deal for eluding police on some form of moped as officers attempted to stop him for a traffic violation. When the news initially came out he had been detained, there was no details of the arrest. Sources told On3 that Amazon was concerned after seeing the immediate story, but as more details emerged, the company’s concerns lessened.

Future plans for Amazon

While Finley and Galloway were the first two athletes to sign with Amazon, they’re just a starting point. Dreamfield has a list of athletes who will soon be added to the company’s growing list of partner athletes.

Plans are not stopping with Dreamfield, though. Sources told On3 that Jeff Bezos’ company is only getting started. Amazon has plans to roll out more marketplaces focused on athletes but also institutions. Amazon has begun the process of licensing logos and trademarks from colleges. Athletes could soon receive compensation for driving fans to Amazon’s marketplace, where their school’s apparel is sold.

NIL experts have also pointed out to On3 how Amazon could easily become a major player by just striking simple deals. A Division III soccer player with a large social media following could promote an air fryer and receive a commission for sales driven to the site.

Just over a year into the NIL era, more and more brands are jumping into the game. Amazon has the clout, money and resources to easily become one of the largest spenders in the space.

Last month’s news was only the beginning.