What’s in a name? Maybe millions. Boardroom plays matchmaker to find the perfect brand partner for 10 Ohio State NIL athletes hoping to become the next Kool-Aid McKinstry.
What’s the best way to arrest the attention of a brand perusing the celebrity endorsement market? Carefully vetted Twitter Circles where you can limit your… shall we say… “less marketable content” doesn’t hurt, but if you’re already directly associated with a brand name synonymous with decades of success, you’ve got a priceless advantage in your favor.
In college football, The Ohio State University Buckeyes are one of those brands, whether other Big Ten fans like it or not. And that makes the market for tOSU NIL deals positively booming.
Aided by a pair of third-party Ohio State NIL collectives — The Foundation, co-founded by Cardale Jones, and Cohesion Foundation, as https://boardroom.tv/tag/big-tenstarted by former walk-on Gary Marcinick — the football season arrives in Columbus with a full-on athletics-industrial complex behind it. But of all the brand deals Buckeye athletes are signing in the name, image, and likeness era, none quite reaches the level of Alabama cornerback Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry’s deal with Kool-Aid or Nebraska receiver Decoldest Crawford’s pact with an air conditioning company, the top candidates for the title of most perfectly literal, sensical endorsement ever.
That got us thinking — who on the Ohio State roster could earn big-time dollars by leveraging something as simple as their name alone? Let Boardroom play matchmaker and propose 10 Ohio State NIL deals that actually make too much sense.
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Ohio State Football NIL Deals We Want to See
LB Steele Chambers + Parkers Safes
- Class: Senior
- Hometown: Roswell, Georgia
- Why we chose Parkers: Ohio’s place for quality safes! Don’t overthink it, America.
- Other brand(s) we recommend: Superior Portables
DL Zack Cicero + The Ohio State University Classics Department
- Class: Sophomore
- Hometown: Youngstown, Ohio
- Why we chose tOSU Classics: Something tells us he can master Roman philosophy.
- Other brand(s) we recommend: Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law
WR Blaize Exline + Weedmaps
- Class: Freshman
- Hometown: Salem, Ohio
- Why we chose Weedmaps: Please hold, our attorneys are still sorting out our previous recommendation.
- Other brand(s) we recommend: Duraflame, US Forest Service
WR Julian Fleming / CB Colin Kaufmann + Vick’s
- Class: Junior / Freshman
- Hometown: Catawissa, Pennsylvania / Avon, Ohio
- Why we chose Vick’s: Whether it’s the cough, the phlegm, or both, they’re your go-to for OTC cold meds.
- Other brand(s) we recommend: Kleenex, the CDC
DE Tyler Friday + TGI Friday’s
- Class: Graduate student
- Hometown: Ramsey, New Jersey
- Why we chose TGI Friday’s: Gotta take back some of that nefarious Applebee’s market share somehow.
- Other brand(s) we recommend: The Weeknd
DT Hero Kanu + DC Comics
- Class: Freshman
- Hometown: Rancho Santa Margarita, California
- Why we chose DC Comics: Some good NFT opportunities, as outlined by Boardroom.
- Other brand(s) we recommend: Subway, Jersey Mike’s
DB Cameron Kittle + USA Mullet Championships
- Class: Junior
- Hometown: Glouster, Ohio
- Why we chose USA Mullet Championships: Because we have eyes
- Other brand(s) we recommend: None, this is already perfect.
TE Cade Stover + Russell Stover
- Class: Senior
- Hometown: Mansfield, Ohio
- Why we chose Russell Stover: Sometimes, life is like a box of senior tight ends
- Other brand(s) we recommend: Cascade detergent
S Sonny Styles + Ray-Ban
- Class: Freshman
- Hometown: Pickerington, Ohio
- Why we chose Ray-Ban: Because he makes this look good
- Other brand(s) we recommend: Join forces with teammate Tanner McCallister for a Banana Boat sunscreen deal
S Kourt Williams II + Cleveland Cavaliers
- Class: Junior
- Hometown: Harbor City, California
- Why we chose the Cavs: Donovan Mitchell would be honored to play on Kourt Court.
- Other brand(s) we recommend: The People’s Court, the USTA
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