Utah gymnastics squad signs teamwide NIL deal with local pharmacy

Teamwide NIL deals are popping up all over the country, especially in football and men’s and women’s basketball. Yet, teamwide deals aren’t reserved for just those sports. For example, in late August the Michigan State women’s gymnastics inked a teamwide deal with the This is Sparta! collective. Now Utah’s national-championship caliber gymnastics program can be added to the list.

Red Rock Pharmacy, located in Salt Lake City, announced it has executed a teamwide agreement with the Utes. The deal reportedly will total around $65,000 for the squad of 15 student-athletes, meaning they could make more than $4,000 apiece. Red Rock Pharmacy did not disclose if the entire team will make the same amount or if there will be levels for the gymnasts with more marketability.

“We are excited to welcome the Utah Gymnastics team, also known as the Red Rocks, to the Red Rock Pharmacy family,” the pharmacy said in a statement. “The Red Rocks have won a record 10 national championships and has qualified for a record 46 straight national championships, being the only team to qualify for all 39 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics championships.

“Red Rocks exemplifies our pharmacy goals – consistency as a top team, exemplary work ethic and positive community influence.”

Team-wide deals have become common across college athletics.

SMU’s Boulevard Collective is set to pay players on both the football and basketball teams $36,000 a year — a total payout of $3.5 million annually — for NIL activity. And Texas Tech’s Level 13 Agency committed $25,000 for each women’s basketball player. Oklahoma State softball players also recently signed a deal with Seth Wadley’s auto dealerships in Perry, Okla. At Michigan State, each athlete will make $5,000 for their deal with This is Sparta!

NIL deal a smart move with Red Rocks

While the Utah football team has generated a lot of headlines with its success, the Red Rocks are revered by Ute fans. As many as 15,000 fans normally pack Jon M. Huntsman Center for meets.

Along with the teamwide success, Utah has assembled some of the best individual gymnasts in the college ranks.

This includes Grace McCallum, who helped Team USA win a silver medal in the 2020 Olympics. McCallum is a rising star in gymnastics and her more than 417,000 social media followers serve as proof. To date, she has signed on with Dick’s Sporting Goods, Headspace and Unilever, among others. McCallum helped Utah to a third-place finish at NCAAs. She plans on earning a spot with the national team again for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. She has an On3 NIL Valuation of $209,000.

Also, on the squad is Kara Eaker, an alternate for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team and a four-year member of the USA National Team (2017-2021). She has an On3 NIL Valuation of $40,000. During her freshman season at Utah, Eaker was a first-team NCAA All-American. She scored 9.875 or better in all seven beam routines, including four routines at 9.9375 or better. Eaker also posted her first perfect 10 of her career at the NCAA Regional Final in just her fifth career beam routine. 

The Red Rocks also feature Abby Paulson – another NCAA champion – with a high On3 NIL Valuation of $25,000. Another champion, Jaedyn Rucker, has executed nearly double-digit deals to this point. Others on the team, like Cristal Isa, Maile O’Keefe, Abby Brenner and Jaylene Gilstrap, all have valuations of more than $10,000 because of their success on the mat and also through social media stardom.

Most have used that social media presence to execute a number of other NIL deals, so the read with Red Rocks Pharmacy just makes sense.