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Penn State Football: The impacts of the football NIL fund

By Alec Whitaker

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 19: General view of the white out crowd before the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan Wolverines on October 19, 2019 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 19: General view of the white out crowd before the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan Wolverines on October 19, 2019 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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Penn State football continues to get with the times as an NIL fund focused only on football has been formed.

News came down Tuesday afternoon that an NIL fund focused on Penn State football was being formed, with the backing of former standout players.

The fund, Lions Legacy Club, is led by three former Penn State football players, Chris Ganter, Ki-Jana Carter and Michael Mauti.

This fund differs from Success with Honor-the other Penn State NIL fund- because it is only being used for the football team, not all sports.

This is a big deal because many of the other major programs across the nation also have football centric funds. Those funds help teams support their current players and can become a strong recruiting tool.

We saw this past off-season that the transfer portal is alive and well. The Biletnikoff winner, Jordan Addison, transferred from Pitt to USC after it was rumored, he received a strong NIL opportunity from a fund that backs USC. Pitt did not have the NIL infrastructure in place to match any such deal.

Havin this fund in place will help Penn State keep its roster intact and not go through any situations like the one Pitt went through because NIL opportunities will be available for players right there in Happy Valley.

This fund will also give Penn State players more opportunities to market themselves and increase their personal brand. Not only is this great for the success of current players outside of football, but it should also greatly benefit recruiting.

If recruits see Penn State players associated with big brands and businesses, they may be more inclined to come to Penn State knowing there are plentiful NIL opportunities to be had. This will help the Nittany Lions stay competitive in recruiting with other big-name programs that have made NIL a priority for recruits.

Lastly, the fund has its sights on making each Penn State football player more prepared for life in the real world. At the end of the press release from Lions Legacy Club, this was included:

"Through the Lions Legacy Club, all participating student-athletes will receive guidance on the fundamentals of financial and tax management to ensure all transactions are compliant with current guidelines."

To find out how you can get involved, check out lionslegacyclub.com.

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