Partnership Between OneTeam Partners and ONIT Athlete, Oklahoma State Adds QR Codes to Helmets, + ICYMI | Newsletter #264

Aug 22, 2024

Today’s Thursday newsletter includes highlights from this week, important news from last week, and what to watch for.

Keep up to date on all of our newsletters and content by checking out past Optimum Sports Consulting Newsletters, and following us on Twitter!

Recapping Major News This Week:

OneTeam Partners and ONIT Athlete have entered into a multiyear partnership. Oneteam Partners is a leader in commercializing group licensing rights for college athletes, and ONIT Athlete is a rapidly growing trading card and collectible brand.
The partnership aims to create trading cards for thousands of college athletes and enhance equitable revenue opportunities through a group licensing program that benefits male and female athletes alike.
ONIT Athlete is projected to generate over $7 million in royalties in the 2024-25 academic year. OneTeam’s platform simplifies athlete rights management, offering athletes passive income opportunities through the Group Licensing Agreement.
The first sets of trading cards from this partnership are set to be released to the public this month.
CLICK HERE to learn more.

This season, Oklahoma State football players will wear QR codes on their helmets that will link to the general team fund for every student-athlete on the roster.
"It gives a chance for everyday fans across the world to have a real impact when it comes to supporting the NIL efforts for Cowboy football. I’m thrilled about this opportunity for our players," said Coach Mike Gundy.
The QR code will be on the back of each helmet and will feature the player's name and number in the design. While OSU officials said they don't expect the codes to be visible from the stands, close shots during broadcasts and postgame pictures posted to social media are expected to raise the team's NIL value throughout the year.
The QR codes will also be placed on signage throughout the stadium and on the equipment truck.
CLICK HERE to learn more.

Oregon Ducks QB Dillon Gabriel signs NIL deal with Beats as part of its “Beats Elite” 2024 class - LINK
Michigan Tech Athletics partnered with Athlete’s Thread, providing their student-athletes an avenue to showcase their own brand - LINK
Two Stanford quarterbacks signed NIL deals with Tiger Wood’s lifestyle brand “Sun Day Red” - LINK
Arizona quarterback and wide receiver duo inked an NIL deal with private jet company Alerion Aviation - LINK
Peggy Coppom, a 99-year-old Colorado super fan, makes history as the first fan to receive an NIL deal with the support of Deion Sanders - LINK

The NCAA launched their “NIL Assist” program, the governing body’s new centralized database of college athlete endorsement information. NIL Assist has three distinct features —a data dashboard (which will be updated in real time), a suite of athlete educational resources, and a registry of professional service providers.
The data dashboard is publicly accessible and shows the aggregated average and median values of NIL deals disclosed by athletes to their schools. It is searchable by sport, conference, position and deal type. The dashboard’s info will be updated in real time as new NIL disclosures require schools to submit their athletes’ information to the NCAA’s national office twice a year. The provider registry will only be accessible to eligible athletes and will allow them to review different providers.
The platform was built and administered by Teamworks. Teamworks was named the third-party administrator of the “NIL Assist” program back in April, and they had less than four months to build out its “web-based solution.” Teamworks incorporated input from coaches, athletic administrators and members of the NCAA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
CLICK HERE to learn more.

State laws are changing around the country, allowing high school students to benefit from their NIL. Additionally, NIL has changed the landscape of college athletics, with NIL collectives and the transfer portal playing a larger role in the recruiting process.
One college football program that has turned around since the inception of NIL is Florida State. This week, On3 looked at the relationship FSU has with its NIL collective The Battle’s End. The collective is set to hand out a total of $18 million to various sports throughout this upcoming season.
Some schools are utilizing their NIL collectives to recruit and hand out large deals to high school prospects. The founder of The Battle’s End, Ingram Smith, is choosing to use a different strategy.
“Mike Norvell and his staff displayed a significant propensity to use the portal as a tool,” Smith told On3. “Our ability to add a competitive asset of NIL has only allowed that to transpire all the more … We were one of the first collectives to just say, ‘Yeah, y’all are being very stupid if you’re spending 70% of your money on high school kids.’”
Jordan Travis, Trey Benson, Keon Coleman, and Jared Verse were the top players at FSU last season, and all of them came via the transfer portal. The program was again a big winner this offseason with the addition of quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and Georgia pass rusher Marvin Jones Jr.

Keep up to date on all of our newsletters and content by checking out past Optimum Sports Consulting Newsletters, and following us on Twitter!