While Alabama football coach Nick Saban and Texas A&M sideline boss Jimbo Fisher bickered over whether the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s relatively new name, image and likeness program is being abused, an NIL deal flew under the radar last week when University of Tennessee-Martin quarterback Dresser Winn inked a contract with Colin Johnson to promote his campaign for District Attorney in the 27th Judicial Circuit of Tennessee.
Jeff Hood
Since NIL became part of the college athletic landscape in July, student athletes (male and female) in all NCAA sports are able to receive financial compensation in return for selling their name, image and likeness rights.
NIL agreements between companies such as Mercedes, Gatorade, WWE and Dr. Pepper with high-profile student athletes to promote their product have resulted in large paydays. More common and less lucrative agreements range from restaurants to furniture moving companies to cell phone providers to muffler shops to local fitness centers.
Even the World Series champion Atlanta Braves jumped onto the NIL bandwagon in August by signing Georgia gymnast Rachel Baumann and Georgia Tech quarterback Jordan Yates to simply wear Braves gear.
However, Dresser’s pact with a district attorney candidate is significant since it’s the first to dip into the political pool.
NIL arrangements are often structured to allow marketing gurus to utilize student athletes– who are typically 18 to 22 years of age– as social influencers in some form or fashion. Activation is frequently geared to target the 18 to 35 age demographic, often through a series of videos and photos on various social media platforms.
The state of Georgia will be the focus of the political universe this fall when Herschel Walker and incumbent Raphael Warnock battle for a seat that could determine the balance of power in U.S. Senate.
Stacey’s Abram’s attempt to unseat Gov. Brian Kemp will attract similar national attention.
Combined, the two races are expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars through fundraising.
Has the time come for a portion of these anticipated lucrative war chests go to work through NIL deals in an age when voters continue to be weary of the traditional yard sign, TV and radio ad and campaign postcard messaging tactics?
While candidates typically strategize behind the scenes on how to earn the African American and Hispanic vote, it can be argued that support from millennials, specifically those in their twenties and of all sexes and ethnicities, might just be the largest untapped – and most coveted – voting segment in Georgia.
Has an NIL deal between an obscure quarterback in Tennessee and a DA candidate served as a wake-up call for politicians in Georgia to follow suit?
Amidst the anticipated hoopla and national media attention, most Georgia voters will be eager to cast their vote on Nov. 8th. But considering that the average age of the four candidates running for governor and U.S. Senate in Georgia is 54, motivation for young, registered voters in Georgia to visit their polling place will be a challenge.
That’s why an NIL deal with a 22-year-old student athlete to connect and resonate with voters of his generation might very well prove to provide the winning strategy.
A Georgia native, Jeff Hood resides in Oconee County. He can be reached at oconeepolitics@gmail.com.
