Penn State Football makes significant NIL move with new partnership
By Nick Kreiser
Penn State Football announced a new partnership with Fanatics, a popular retailer of athletics apparel, that could be a major NIL move for student athletes
Fanatics, The company already sells Penn State Football apparel, will soon be selling player jerseys, too.
For fans, this will give Nittany Lions faithful the opportunity to buy their favorite player’s jerseys, but for Penn State Football players — and the program, this could be a major boon.
Excited to be one of the exclusive programs bringing this partnership to our student-athletes & fans.
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) February 4, 2022
Player Jerseys: Coming Fall 2022 👀#WeAre pic.twitter.com/DfeFogMOjp
Previously, only jerseys with the number one on it were sold through officially licensed companies, or with the number the aligns of the current year (Ex: in 2021, #21 jerseys were sold). This was a rule that was in place prior to the new NIL rules, so that teams could not sell official jerseys of popular players, since the players could not make money off of it.
Presumably, any number will be available for purchase now, and certain ones might also have the option to come with the player’s name on the back. Don’t worry, that won’t change what the players actually wear on the field.
It is great that Penn State Football got out in front of this and is one of the first programs in the country to form a partnership to sell player jerseys.
In the new age of college football, the programs that prosper the most on the NIL front have a big advantage on the recruiting trail. If Penn State student-athletes are able to profit off of the sales of their jerseys, it will become an even more attractive place to play.
In 2022, you either have to evolve with the college football landscape, or get left behind, whether it’s transfer portal or NIL.
For the school with the largest alumni network in the world, leading to quite the sizable fanbase, Fanatics will certainly be able to sell a copious amount of those clean blue and white Nike jerseys.
The jersey sales might not be released in time to get them for the start of the season, but they will certainly be released in time for the holiday season, and they would make a great gift for family and friends.