The Grove Collective inks NIL deals with eight Ole Miss players

The Grove Collective has signed another wave of Ole Miss football players.

The preferred NIL collective of Rebel athletics announced the signing of eight athletes on Tuesday. The organization has placed an emphasis on roster retention — a rising trend in the era of the one-time transfer portal.

The theme started from The Grove when Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins signed an NIL deal through the 2023-24 season days before the portal windows opened. Similar announcements followed until the portal closed in mid-January.

Now the focus has shifted towards signing other key members of the Ole Miss football team and recent portal acquisitions. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has not run away from the name, image and likeness topic. He has emerged as one of the biggest proponents, while also making it known what path he sees college football going down.

He has also used NIL to his advantage, becoming known for his success of landing talent in the portal. Ole Miss sits at No. 3 in On3’s Transfer Portal rankings. While Kiffin lost 26 players, 17 were former three-star recruits. He added six former four-star recruits, the most of any school in the nation.

The Grove Collective has played a large role in that. A for-profit LLC founded last January, it relaunched in September. Former Rebel Walker Jones was appointed as the executive director of the collective. The organization topped the $10 million mark in fundraising in late November, one of the top reported totals in the NIL collective market.

And in late December, the collective struck an agreement with Wheels Up through The Brandr Group. The direct focus of the deal with the private jet charter company was be giving back to the community. But athletes will also have access to travel opportunities to allow their families to attend games and events, as part of the deal, through Wheels Up.

A part of the overall success has been thanks to the state of NIL in Mississippi. Jones’ collective is the only one operating in the Ole Miss market, delivering a clear message to Rebel donors. And thanks to Mississippi Senate Bill 2690, the collective is able to openly discuss possible NIL opportunities for athletes with athletic administration.

“We’re at a huge advantage across all areas of NIL because of the fact we’re able to coordinate, communicate and work in coordination with our athletic department and university as a whole,” Jones told On3 on Tuesday in a phone interview. “That’s a huge piece when you come to compliance.

“The problem is collectives are resource constrained. They don’t have a ton of resources, so the more shared resources you can get from a university, the better you’re going to be.”

Full list of The Grove Collective’s signings

Here is the full list of Tuesday’s signings:

• Trey Washington — The safety finished with four total tackles and two pass breakups in 2022, while forcing a fumble against Tulsa.
• Victor Curne — A transfer from Washington, he started at right tackle for two seasons. With two seasons of eligibility remaining, he’ll be immediately put in the mix in Oxford.
• Markevious Brown — The cornerback played 10 games for Ole Miss this past season.
• Jeremy James — He has started every game for the Rebels over the last three seasons on the offensive line, moving around. James played mostly at right guard in 2022, making the decision to return for another year.
• Casey Kelly — The tight end has played in 35 games at Ole Miss, tallying 28 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns.
• Jamond Gordon — The defensive lineman has signed with the collective after withdrawing from the portal last month. In 12 games in 2022, he notched eight tackles with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.
• Dayton Wade — A former walk-on, he caught three touchdowns this last year as a wide receiver.
• Jordan Watkins — The former Louisville receiver had eight catches in the Egg Bowl.