In the era of Name, Image and Likeness there has been a lot of focus on the big ticket items that grab headlines and raise eyebrows. Is a college football player really worth the value of a Tesla? Is a private jet sponsorship something that a college athlete needs? Regardless of where you might fall on the more extreme instances of college athletes signing endorsement deals, they tend to overlook some of the more meaningful changes that have come about because of NIL.
Because before NIL, a college football player couldn’t sell a painting, couldn’t get paid to perform with a band, couldn’t have a podcast that came with a local sponsorship.
Enter Penn State center Nick Dawkins, the other half of The Lions Den podcast with former Nittany Lion Aeneas Hawkins. A semi-regular podcast and YouTube show that highlights interviews with current Penn State football players, unpacking what it’s like to truly be a student athlete. For his part. Dawkins got involved with Hawkins because Hawkins was working on generating a video reel for his resume. And then things sort of took off from there.
“I think we’re naturally young, charismatic guys, and we have a really good banter,” Dawkins said. “And our banter tends to be really enjoyed by other people. And I think it’s documented that we can have fun but also touch on serious topics. I think it’s important for people to understand our perspectives, because I think we look at every school with the mass message that’s usually made by maybe like a coach or an administrator or a trustee. You take that quote and kind of associate it with the players, but I think it’s important to see how guys feel about it, how it’s impacting their lives.
“I think it’s just it’s more authentic. It provides a platform for guys to be truly authentic and genuine about their ideals and their purpose and, you know, also give people a little background context of who they are — to see behind the mask, because … a lot of people know who KeAndre Lambert-Smith is but don’t know what he looks like. So you know, you get to put a face to a number.”
There’s something to be said for that, and one of the reasons why Dawkins’ surge into the forefront of the minds of many Penn State football fans is so interesting and emblematic of the freedoms NIL has given student athletes. Simply put, Dawkins is more well known for the podcast than he is his play. That could change this season if Dawkins ends up — as projected — being Penn State’s starting center, but it is undeniably unique that Dawkins has carved out a place in the public eye prior to making his most notable contributions on the field.
As for the podcast itself, there’s something to be said for going directly to the people. Because Dawkins is right, football is not a very intimate sport from the perspective of fans. Go to a basketball game and you can see a player’s ever expression in real time. Go to a football game and you might not even see Drew Allar’s face. Take off the helmet, get in front of a camera and suddenly football players start looking a whole lot more like people.
“People have always blamed the media when they had an issue of how something was perceived,” Dawkins added. “So this kind of eliminates that middle ground of blaming media for statements because you have the opportunity to fully make it in your voice heard, however you want, whenever you want, whether it’s video, whether it’s like text, whether it’s a picture, that is all up to you. So I think that grants some power.
“I would say I’m a glue guy. I’m able to gel with everybody in the locker room like that easily even like the new players that just came in, I can talk to all of them. I think maybe that might be a gift that I was handed down from my father, just being able to be a conversationalist and such. I don’t want to go into media, after college or anything like that. I just think it’s cool to you know to use your platforms when you can and while you may have a little importance, maybe people care about what I’m talking about right now. So I use that platform [because] maybe in like three years nobody will care at all what I have to say. So I may as well get my thoughts out now.”
Dawkins has also been an advocate for the ability for student athletes to explore their fair market value. But of course as the money comes rolling in, so too do the phone calls, the texts and the friendly handshakes as people start to gravitate towards the guy with all the money.
And there is an art to saying no to people. An art to not letting hard work turn into hard problems. The ability to avoid that in the era of NIL comes back to surrounding yourself with good people and leaning on the life experiences you’ve already had as a guide.
“Personally, I’m a little biased in this situation, because it’s pretty easy for me to say no,” Dawkins said. “I would say that’s because of my personal story and how I got to where I’m at is because so many people said no to me when I needed help, per se like the example I’m using is when I lost my dad. So many people came up and told my family that they were going to help us take care of us, be there for us, and most people disappeared after a week. After the funeral. So for me to look at people and character and be able to differentiate if their values align with mine or their values will benefit my family and my mission and my why if it doesn’t, then the answer is no.
“I think here at Penn State, yes, we have an abundant resource, but I mean, I got friends at Alcorn State, I got friends at Kennesaw State, I got friends at Liberty. Do they have the same resources that we do? Absolutely not. But I think when you go somewhere and you find counsel and you find an environment that fosters you, you’re able to create that support system that you need, because when you’re talking about these resources, I think that’s just a part of maturing and growing up is understanding who can be around you and you can lend a helping hand in order to help you grow.”
As Dawkins’ role at Penn State stands ready to reach an all-time high it remains to be seen what the future of the show will be in 2024, but as he notes, the podcast is only an hour, and time management for a player who has been around the block as many times as he has, isn’t that hard. So stay tuned.
