LSU First in Nation to Embrace NIL Custom Jersey Program
Fans of the LSU Tigers will now have a way to directly benefit their favorite players through the NCAA's NIL policy. The NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) policy was recently enacted to allow college athletes the opportunity to receive financial compensation for the use of their names, images, and or likenesses.
Many high profile athletes have already jumped on the NIL bandwagon. LSU's heir-apparent at quarterback Myles Brennan recently celebrated a little NIL fun with a viral TikTok video.
Brennan has already secured several NIL partners for the upcoming season with the Tigers. You'll be able to see him pimping Raisin' Canes, Smoothie King, and RTIC Outdoors in addition to Walk-Ons which is featured prominently in the Tik Tok video.
But based on what was announced Friday, Brennan and the other "high-profile" Tigers won't be the only ones who will have a chance to sop up a little of the NIL gravy with some extra bread. LSU announced Friday that the Tigers are the first team in college football to achieve near-unanimous participation in a co-branded jersey program.
The program is administered in association with Fanatics and OneTeam Partners. If you're wondering where you've heard the Fanatics name, they actually operate the LSU SportShop at Tiger Stadium.
The program allows for every Tiger player that opts in to make a little money off of jersey sales this season. The exact details of how you can purchase the customized jerseys and exactly how the players will be compensated are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
To be clear, there are many other schools participating in the program that went live Thursday, it's just that LSU and its student-athletes were among the first to totally embrace the idea. Scott Woodward the Director of Athletics at LSU called the announcement Friday "historic".
Woodward went on to gush about how exciting it will be to see the stands full of fans sporting these customized jerseys in support of their favorite team and their favorite player. The program allows for student-athletes to be compensated on all jersey sales made through the program before the start of the 2022 season.
By the way, the Tigers under new head coach and dance enthusiast Brian Kelly will open play next year in New Orleans against the Florida State Seminoles. But that won't be the only time Tiger fans will be able to strut their new custom jerseys in the first month of the season.
In addition to the "almost home game" with FSU in NOLA, the Tigers will host Southern University, Mississippi State, and New Mexico at Tiger Stadium before they make their first foray onto the road on October 1st when they face Auburn.
Other home games for the Tigers in Baton Rouge this fall include games against Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Alabama-Birmingham. The Tigers' road opponents this year include the aforementioned Auburn, Florida, Arkansas, and Texas A&M.
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