7/14/2021 football Edit

Purdue football players taking advantage of NIL

Tom Dienhart • BoilerUpload

GoldandBlack.com, Associate Editor

July 1 was the day college athletics changed forever in a radical way.

That was the day Name, Image and Likeness was permitted by the NCAA. While there is no blanket legislation governing a policy that allows student-athletes to earn money off their likeness, the door was opened with schools and in some instances states providing guidelines.

While most universities and states have outlined restrictions (no alcohol, tobacco, gambling or adult-type endorsements, plus maybe some apparel restrictions), it's basically anything goes.

How will all of this work out? Stay tuned.

"So far, for all the wringing of hands and gloom-and-doom prognostications, I don't see it yet," said Purdue A.D. Mike Bobinski earlier this month. "But again, we're very early with all of this."

The impact has been sudden, with some athletes announcing deals just after midnight on July 1. Here are some of the NIL arrangements that have been spawned this month for football players across the nation.

• Auburn QB Bo Nix has an endorsement with Milo's Tea.

• Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler has inked with Raising Canes. He also has created his own logo.

• Arkansas wide receiver Trey Knox has signed a deal with PetSmart.

• Miami quarterback D’Eriq King has an arrangement with College Hunks Moving Company.

• Indiana QB Michael Penix, Jr., has a deal with Dreamland for meet/greets and autographs

• LSU cornerback Derek Stingley announced an agreement with Walk-Ons restaurant.

That's just a smattering of the deals brokered by football players. Athletes in other sports already are cashing in, too.

"You have a chance here to unleash some creativity in a group of folks who weren't able to focus on this," Bobinski said. "We have a lot of bright folks here in our student-athlete population, as do schools all around the country, and I think there will probably be some creative things that we'll all look at that ... will be seen as positives."

And Bobinski thinks Purdue has a chance to carve its niche.

"Our opportunities here at Purdue appeal to a certain type of young people," he said. "That's just a fact of life. People are attracted to Purdue because of our focus on substance and character and the great education we can provide, those kinds of things that aren't changing. Name-Image-Likeness isn't changing any of that. Purdue's still going to focus on those same fundamental values.

"This, to me, is value added, another layer of opportunity that can present itself."

Here's a look at the deals GoldandBlack.com has been able to find on social media for Purdue football players.

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