Three Penn State Football Players Sign NIL Deals with Local Hotels

Scholar Hotel Group announced on Thursday afternoon that it has entered into a one-year name, image and likeness (NIL) exclusive agreements with Penn State football players Caedan Wallace, D’Von Ellies and Adisa Isaac.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The trio, according to a press release will act as brand ambassadors and make appearances for Scholar Hotel Group’s State College properties: Scholar Hotel State College, 205 E. Beaver Ave. and Hyatt Place State College in the Fraser Centre at 219 W. Beaver Ave.

Wallace enters this season as a redshirt junior offensive lineman having started all 13 games at right tackle during Penn State’s 2021 season, while Ellies, a redshirt junior, made appearances in 13 games last year at defensive tackle. Issac is set to return at defensive end this upcoming season after missing all of the 2021 campaign with a lower body injury.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with the Penn State athletic community with these NIL agreements,” Ronald Balle, vice president of sales and marketing for Scholar Hotel Group, said in a statement. “Our hotels can now offer our clients the unique opportunity of having a PSU football player appear at the next meeting or event they hold at our facilities.”

In addition to the State College hotels, Scholar Hotel Group also owns and operates the Collegian Hotel & Suites in Syracuse, New York, and the Scholar Hotel in Morgantown, West Virginia.

NIL deals allow student athletes to market themselves and enter into business deals, among other things such as art sales and performances, YouTube channels and more, according to new NCAA legislation.

Thursday’s news isn’t a landmark moment in either Penn State’s venture into the NIL landscape or national deals, but does mark the latest publicly known relationship between a Penn State student-athlete and NIL venture.