Penn State junior linebacker Brandon Smith made one of the more interesting splashes on the Name Image and Likeness (NIL) front earlier this week after he announced that he had partnered with Roc Nation Sports. The agency was founded by rapper and businessman Jay-Z in 2013 and represents a host of professional athletes.
NIL effectively allows for student athletes to make money through business partnerships, sponsorships, appearances and other revenue generating ventures.
While Smith can’t acquire the services of Roc Nation’s actual sports agents due to NCAA rules, he is hopeful that the relationship can help him in life during and after football.
“A family friend was contacted by them,” Smith, a former five-star prospect said after practice on Wednesday. “They wanted us to have a conversation and stuff like that. So I had my parents talk to them first to make sure everything was all right, you know before I even got involved in it or whatever.”
“Everything checked – all great people. Next thing you know, we’re here. For the most part, it’s just mainly looking at not only right now but also business stuff [after college] it’s more than just what we got going on. It’s me learning from them as far as like the business aspect of everything, and having that many different connections.”
What exactly that means over the course of the next season or two of Smith’s career is a little less clear cut. In a tweet announcing the partnership Smith stated that he was interested in all paid, non paid and charitable inquiries – on Wednesday he offered up little in the way of insight as to what those things might looked like and geared his attention more towards the networking aspect of the relationship.
According to Smith’s official Penn State bio, he is majoring in telecommunications.
“It’s more than making money right now. It’s the knowledge that you’ve gathered from talking to many different people and learning from their different experiences and just having a general conversation with them on a day-to-day basis.” Smith said.
Smith’s venture with Roc Nation is just the latest in a long line of examples of how NIL has changed the landscape of college athletics. While no Penn State football player has yet to sign any substantial sponsorship or endorsement deal, Smith’s partnership is the most noteworthy as it pertains to popular or well known brands, although what he makes of that partnership appears to be determined.
Penn State’s receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield spoke to reporters after practice on Wednesday as well, laughing at the prospect of a world in which he – who left Purdue with the NCAA record for career receptions [and is now 6th on that list] – could have signed endorsement deals of his own.
“Right before a team meeting we always got that double cheeseburger for 99 cents right before practice,” Stubblefield said with a laugh. “Thinking about it now, it probably wasn’t a good idea. But Jimmy John’s was another place that we used to get us a quick steak sandwich delivered and it delivered pretty fast right there to the locker room. You know what though, there’s this little ice cream place – I used to be in a little competition sometimes with the quarterbacks that someone would have to provide the ice cream for Friday meetings so maybe that would be a place that I would like.”
Hard to argue with ice cream.
