"Starstruck" Vince Marrow details pitch to John Legend for NIL concert

Yesterday, The 15 Club announced the formation of 500 Strong, a membership club for Kentucky Football’s top boosters. The first perk? A private concert by Grammy-winning artist John Legend. The concert will take place May 10 at Central Bank Center in Lexington, the first of three exclusive events for 500 Strong members throughout the year. When you’re looking for ways to reward your program’s biggest NIL donors, that’s a pretty good place to start.

How did the plan to bring John Legend to Lexington come about? As you might expect, Vince Marrow, Kentucky Football’s top recruiter, played a big part. Marrow called into Kentucky Sports Radio this morning to share the details — and excitement over meeting Legend, who is the uncle of current Kentucky wide receiver Anthony Brown-Stephens. Marrow said he and Mark Stoops had been trying to figure out how to get Legend involved with the program for months. A concert of a different sort provided Marrow the perfect opportunity to make his pitch.

Marrow and his wife attended Legend’s mother’s 70th birthday party earlier this month. Marrow recruited Brown-Stephens to Kentucky and also his older brother Mike, who ended up at Minnesota. Both played under former Wildcat Mo Douglass at Springfield High School. Those connections, plus all the others Marrow has in the state of Ohio, got him in the door.

“I’ve spent a lot of time down there so the family really got to know me. We went to the party and he came in with security people and I gotta admit, I’ve seen a lot of people, but when he walked through that door, I was almost starstruck. I was just like, man, that’s really like John Legend. Like, can I touch him?”

Very bless to hear ⁦@johnlegend⁩ sing at his mom 70 birthday party. pic.twitter.com/2kbGeyEdWi

— CoachMarrowUK (@vincemarrow) March 4, 2024

When Marrow got to speak to Legend, they discovered they had even more in common. Legend and the man who taught him about music growing up knew Marrow’s parents, who were in a gospel group in Youngstown. Marrow and Stoops had already reached out to Legend about an NIL concert before and he said no; however, after some face time with the Big Dog, the artist had a change of heart.

“When he met me in person, the whole thing changed and it was more like, hey, we put a face [to a name] and we got to talk. So, you know, when I get a chance to talk to somebody and recruit them, I was like, hey, I sold my pitch and so he agreed to do it.”

Marrow, Legend, Stoops, and Eddie Gran did a FaceTime to confirm the event, during which Marrow found himself starstruck again.

“He came on the screen and I’m like, that’s my second time seeing him and I thought I’ve seen a star again, I’m just speechless. I’m like, man, this is John Legend. I watch him on ‘The Voice.’ It’s John Legend.”

The 15 Club is proud to announce the 500 Strong and its inaugural event: An Evening with @johnlegend Presented by @lexuslexington1! This is the first of many VIP Experiences that 500 Strong Members will enjoy!#BBN #500Strong #WeAreUK@UKCoachStoops @vincemarrow @CoachGran… pic.twitter.com/HoBzUT1NjQ

— The 15 Club (@The15Club_nil) March 28, 2024

Another 500 Strong concert already in the works

As mentioned, the John Legend concert is the first of three exclusive events for 500 Strong members this year. Marrow didn’t share details but said the club already has another “big-time person” who has agreed to perform. Membership is $15,000 per year, which includes events, experiences with the team, and “insider intel.” 500 Strong hopes to raise approximately $4.5 million annually, and if it can meet its goal of 500 members, Kentucky will have $7.5 million of NIL funds to work with.

“It’s more of showing appreciation of people who have helped us since NIL started,” Marrow said of the club. “There are a lot of people who really help us and we just want to say, hey, here’s something. We want to give back and we’re kicking it off with this guy [Legend].”

Marrow added that Legend agreed to do the concert even though he has a packed schedule, a testament to his love for his nephew and support for the Kentucky Football program. As schools across the country, especially the SEC, ramp up their NIL efforts, Marrow hopes that this concert will raise Kentucky’s status in the landscape as well.

“If people do their homework, there are a lot of schools raising money. I think Texas is about to have [Brooks & Dunn] do a concert for them. Georgia has somebody doing a concert, so I think it’s our appreciation to say, hey, we want to give you John Legend.

“I would fly all over to the country to have a private concert with John Legend. When I saw him at his mom’s birthday party, he just performed four songs on like a little keyboard and I was like, wow this guy is better than what the phones even say.”

If you want to be one of those 500 members in the building when John Legend performs in May, visit Kentucky15.com/500Strong.