Georgia football and a year of NIL: Looking back on Dawgs deals to date
Today marks the one-year anniversary of NIL legislation going into effect within college athletics. At long last, student athletes across the country had the opportunity to benefit from their name, image, and likeness.
Once the doors opened, the University of Georgia took immediate action to make sure its student-athletes had a shot at success in this arena.
Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks responded to the ground-breaking news with the following statement: “I’m thrilled to be able to offer this educational and personal development opportunity to all our student-athletes in advance of the expected NIL changes in collegiate athletics.”
So, given the one year anniversary, let’s take a look at how Georgia players and local Athens companies took advantage of their opportunities.
Georgia football NIL deals of note
Last summer, former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback and current West Virginia Mountaineer JT Daniels partnered with Zaxby’s.
Daniels didn’t stop there. He also signed a six-month trading card deal with SuperGlow. That deal reportedly awarded him $100 per signature with 50% in royalties from both signed and unsigned cards.
Daniels reportedly shared a portion of the deal with his teammates.
Freshman tight end sensation Brock Bowers followed Daniels’s path, signing a deal with Associated Credit Union in March of 2022. He, too, signed up with Zaxby’s in April 2022.
Current Georgia football players Ryland Goede, Dan Jackson, Nolan Smith, Brock Bowers, Brett Seither, and Gunner Stockton recently served as camp counselors at ‘Camp with the Champs.’
The event gave youth football players a day in the life of a Georgia football player.
Nolan Smith Jr. has an upcoming event called ‘Pups Day Out.’
Smith and other coaches will provide guidance and hands-on instruction to youth football players. The event in Savannah will include football skill stations, contests, and lectures.
Tight end Arik Gilbert started working with C4 Energy, promoting a sports drink to his 30.7 thousand Instagram followers
Despite not playing college football in over a year, Gilbert’s reputation and potential landed him a major endorsement deal.
Dan Jackson and Jordan Davis both appeared on billboards representing law firms.
Nakobe Dean launched his own signature apparel line.
Stetson Bennett took a similar path to Daniels and Bowers, partnering with Raising Cane’s, Topps trading cards, and Great Clips. One of the most memorable moments of the off-season so far came when Bennett appeared in a Canes drive-through shortly after winning the National Championship Game.
However, Bennett’s usage of the NIL market differs from most other collegiate athletes with the creation of the DGD Fund.
The DGD fund
Current and former Bulldogs Payne Walker, Owen Condon, John Staton, John FitzPatrick, and Stetson Bennett established the DGD Fund.
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The fund allows Georgia fans to contribute to various non-profits designated by the players.
Their website states, “As a group of hard-working, dedicated, and determined young men, we believe the creation of the DGD Fund will inspire generations of dedicated Georgia fans to raise money for five incredibly important causes that we have personally chosen. Once the money is raised it will be split equally between our causes and donated directly to our selected organizations”.
However, one of the DGD Fund’s partners, Classic City Collective, may represent the future of NIL in Athens.
Classic City Collective: NIL opportunities for current Georgia football players, other athletes
Matt Hibbs and former Georgia linebacker John Staton launched Classic City Collective to facilitate NIL opportunities for current Georgia athletes.
The collective recently set up an office and studio in downtown Athens.
Their website mission statement explains how they plan to affect the culture of the Classic City.
Georgia football jersey sales
A Georgia NIL deal will allow student athletes to profit from customized jersey sales.
An undisclosed percentage of the profit from any custom-made jerseys will go to Georgia athletes who opt into the deal.
Moving forward…
Georgia players clearly have every opportunity to remain competitive with their college football peers.
Still, many football fans criticize the potential use of NIL money for recruiting inducements in the college football landscape as a whole.
While not permissible by the letter of NIL regulations, we still seem to be in a ‘Wild West’ era of uncharted waters.
It’s just one of many changes – including conference realignment, potential CFP expansion, and the transfer portal – that have the sport headed for a tumultuous future in the short term.
