Some interesting data reporting from @opendorse on the first year of NIL
— Sportico (@Sportico) July 1, 2022
Here is more from the full report: https://t.co/kFded6a005 pic.twitter.com/1PuMJNyPm3
Rising Spear, Warpath merger unites two biggest NIL collectives for benefit of FSU athletes
In an effort to show that their ultimate goal is to help FSU remain competitive in this rapidly-evolving era of NIL collectives, Rising Spear and Warpath announced on May 5 that they were joining forces, merging under the Rising Spear name to unite the two biggest names in the FSU NIL space.
FSU's collectives got a late start in relation to a few other collectives across the country, including UF's Gator Collective, which is among the biggest in the country. However, Rising Spear has definitely done well to catch up.
In less than two months' time, Rising Spear has amassed over 1,300 recurring or one-time donations to benefit FSU athletes. The collective has more than 55 ambassadors who are FSU athletes, 28 of whom are FSU football players.
That list of ambassadors is a mix of FSU football veterans like Amari Gainer and Jordan Travis, FSU football newcomers like Tatum Bethune and AJ Duffy and members of the FSU soccer and softball teams.
The addition of former FSU women's basketball director of player development Will Cowen as Rising Spear's new COO further legitimized the collective considering Cowen was a co-chair on FSU's NIL task force when he was still at the university.
Under the merger, both sides of the collective get to focus on what they did upon launch. The Garnet Spirit side is Rising Spear's model at launch, funding donations that 100% of which go towards FSU athletes. The Gold Standard side is powered by Dreamfield and follows the Warpath model, allowing fans opportunities to meet and talk to current and former FSU athletes as part of its monthly subscription service.
These perks will start shortly after Memorial Day with Twitter spaces and will soon move to Rising Spear's private discord server. It's a model that has worked well for Dreamfield with its first NIL collective venture at UCF.
An added benefit for Rising Spear under this merger is that it sets the collective up with Dreamfield's marketplace of sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Dreamfield has worked to create NIL deals with a number of sizable companies, including Mercedes Benz USA and FTX.
By the start of football season in late August, Rising Spear's hope is that it will have doubled its current donor total of 1,300.
Rising Spear Collective Hires Former FSU Director of Player Development Will Cowen
Dreamfield launching NIL collective Warpath to help connect Florida State fans, athletes
Dreamfield is officially launching its second name, image and likeness collective in Tallahassee with Florida State's athletes.
Warpath, an NIL collective which will provide invitations to exclusive events with FSU athletes and more as part of a monthly membership, launched Wednesday and is being operated by Dreamfield at www.Warpath850.com.
Dreamfield has been connected to FSU since the NIL legislation went into effect last July 1, allowing college athletes to be compensated for appearing at events, advertisements or other means for the first time.
Former UCF and FSU quarterback McKenzie Milton is a co-founder of Dreamfield along with Staniscia and CEO Luis Pardillo, among others.
Dreamfield has established itself as a major NIL marketplace that helps coordinate deals between athletes and businesses. In less than eight months, Dreamfield is approaching 500 NIL contracts executed for college athletes at an average of $715 per contract.
"We saw that someone needed to solve this issue for these universities that are major universities, have major donors and fan bases and no one wanted to take the reins. So we took the reins ourselves and said, 'We're just going to go ahead and start operating,'" Staniscia said.
"Then we kind of set our sights on Tallahassee and said 'All right, the next test is going to be Florida State.' A different kind of donor base, different kind of fan base that has more of a national reach, not just a regional reach. We see this area just being totally ripe for for a program like this."
Warpath isn't looking to steal away the big-money contributors from Seminole Boosters. It has just four different membership levels, which range from $10 (Spear) to $200 (Renegade) a month.
The four levels offer different levels of access to exclusive private events with FSU athletes as well as camps and clinics for children with current and former FSU athletes.
Starting at the $25 Tomahawk level, members also get access to an exclusive Discord channel which will host Q&A sessions with FSU athletes. Each member also gets an exclusive NFT depending on their level of membership and the opportunity to buy exclusive limited-run apparel from FSU athletes.
In accordance with NIL and through Dreamfield's marketplace, current FSU athletes who participate in any of these events will be compensated for their time. Warpath also plans on having one male FSU athlete and one female FSU athlete join as ambassadors, with the possibility of more being added later.
Warpath won't be the first NIL collective surrounding the FSU athletic department. A pair of former Seminole Boosters board members launched Rising Spear, an independent NIL platform, in December.
Florida State softball players partnering with cryptocurrency exchange FTX for NIL
The Seminoles are hitting the ground running in this regard as the vast majority of the team signed individual contracts for NIL deals with cryptocurrency exchange FTX late last year.
FTX, a website where people can buy or sell various cryptocurrencies, has entered the sports market on quite a few fronts. Recently retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady has an equity stake in the company and reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani is an ambassador for the brand.
In an effort to create a larger impact in women's sports, FTX partnered with members of the UCLA women's basketball team and the FSU softball team for deals that were first reported last December.
The deal is being paid out entirely in cryptocurrency and is believed to be the first team-wide deal across college athletics where that is the case. Terms and length of the deal haven't been disclosed, but FTX told Forbes that if the entire team signed on that, it would pay out nearly $80,000 to the FSU players.
FSU football players can be paid for jersey sales
Florida State fans can purchase customized jerseys of their favorite football players, and part of the proceeds from sales will go to athletes. FSU announced an agreement with Fanatics and OneTeam for current players to “opt-in to a jersey customization program and be compensated for each jersey sale.”
The percentage of proceeds from jersey sales for players was not specified in the release from FSU. This partnership is through the FSU "Apex" Name, Image, and Likeness program.
FSU is teaming up with Fanatics and OneTeam to offer football players the opportunity to profit off of jersey sales this season.
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) February 10, 2022
The jerseys can be customized with current players' names. FSU will look to do the same with other sports as well.
More at https://t.co/wBSINVAbvs
Coming in 2022 - FSU custom jerseys!https://t.co/Qal46NKo87#NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) February 10, 2022
As part of a new partnership, Florida State is offering customized football jerseys for the 2022 season. https://t.co/L9PkqZ1FeW
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) February 10, 2022
Matlow’s Restaurant in Negotiations with FSU Football Player for NIL Deal
An NIL match made in heaven — Tallahassee pizza joint @GainesStPies has signed the entire #FSU offensive line: https://t.co/JKODCfku3H pic.twitter.com/PiBzpH3g2C
— Tomahawk Nation (@TomahawkNation) February 10, 2022
Apparel that was created to celebrate @FSUSoccer's NCAA championship is believed to be the first product deal that pays athletes for winning a title 🏆
— Sports Business Journal (@sbjsbd) January 22, 2022
✍️ @SmittySBJ https://t.co/WU7BneIrBL
FSU soccer team establishes championship co-branding NIL opportunity
Florida State’s Soccer team celebrated the 2021 national championship with a shootout win over Brigham Young in December and have now become the first NCAA national champion to benefit financially under Name, Image and License legislation from a group licensed product. Florida State University and its soccer team also became the first to put together a co-branding opportunity with the university, which adds value for the customer and benefits the student-athlete and the university.
If you were watching the national championship match, you may remember the ecstatic moment when the Seminole women rushed toward Yujie Zhao, who had just laced the winning penalty kick into the back of the net.
The silhouette image of the Seminoles soccer team celebrating the moment is featured on the first licensed product produced for the women’s team, who will each receive compensation on every apparel item sold bearing the licensed image. What’s more, this is the first time Florida State University has approved its official marks to be used in conjunction with an NIL product, making this T-shirt the first group licensed national championship co-branded piece in the nation.
While NIL legislation is currently regulated on a state-by-state basis, the NIL legislation that went into effect in Florida in July permits the student-athlete to be compensated for their name, image or likeness but may not be represented with the university’s marks or logos without university approval.
This is a state-by-state, school, by school decision. Use of marks within the NIL space comes down to whether state law or university policy permits it.
While the image of the women celebrating the championship stands on its own, the story is enhanced with the official FSU soccer national championship logo aside the image of the student-athletes. Credit FSU’s administration for finding a win-win with this co-branding agreement as the marks add value, including to the customer.
As FSU entered the NIL space this summer and began to understand it, they recognized that co-branding was a space they wanted to get into as it creates more opportunity for the student-athletes, an administrator told the Osceola, not to mention revenue for athletics through its license.
The timing couldn’t have been better. Just as FSU was ready to roll out the co-branding opportunity, the women’s soccer team was making its run through this postseason.
“BreakingT, one of our apparel licensees who specializes in hot market moments, reached out to us the week before the championship and asked if we would permit NIL co-branding within National Championship product,” said Katie Pugh, FSU’s Director of Trademark Licensing. “We realized that it would be the first time that a national championship piece of merchandise could feature the NIL of student athlete(s) and therefore thought that it was the perfect time to begin to allow co-branding of university marks and student-athlete NIL.”
Rising Spear assisted with the NIL opportunity
In the short months since the NIL legislation was written, a corporation — Rising Spear — was founded by Alan Flaumenhauft and Bob Davis to aid the student-athletes in developing NIL opportunities.
Rising Spear heard about the co-branding opportunity and was excited to assist with the opportunity with Breaking T, a licensed company who specializes in commemorating special moments in sports. BreakingT, who lists Bobby Bowden commemorative apparel as its No. 1 seller in 2021, produces and distributes the team’s branded image in conjunction with FSU’s official marks.
“It’s breaking new ground in NIL space with a licensed co-branded piece of apparel for an NCAA Champion and FSU’s first foray into the use of marks with NIL,” said Davis. “It also gives the women a little bit more shine.
“We presented a licensing agreement to the whole team and 19 signed on,” said Davis, a retired Certified Public Accountant and former chairman of the Seminole Booster Board.
Not every player on the team was able to sign the agreement as foreign players who receive scholarship money are not allowed to earn income while in the United States under current immigration law.
Here’s how it works
The licensed vendor, BreakingT, produces the T-shirts as well as an e-commerce page where T-shirts and hoodies can be purchased and orders fulfilled. BreakingT pays the student-athletes a royalty on their license agreement with Rising Spear, a percentage of sales, which is paid to the student-athletes who opted in. Similarly, BreakingT pays the university royalties (an additional percentage) for the use of its marks.
The list price on the soccer national championship shirts begins at $28 with hoodies and other items selling for as much as $34.
Rising Spear receives no compensation on the NIL agreements they put together for the student-athletes.
Student-athletes promote their apparel
Each of the student-athletes has an incentive to promote their branded items on their personal social media accounts to drive sales because the more they sell, the more they make.
One of the girls, Emily Madril, shared the photo of the team running onto the pitch after the championship on Instagram with these words: “The moment we won the natty!! I wish this was on a tshirt.” The next frame of her tweet says, “Oh wait it is! Click the link in my bio to get yours and support your favorite National Champions.”
Seminole fans who wish to support “their favorite national champions” can purchase the shirt at BreakingT.com under the collegiate section.
Royalties will be reported to both FSU and Rising Spear in the coming months and at that point everyone will have a better understating of how much the shirt has made in royalties.
“BreakingT reports quarterly, so I’m anxious to see what the revenues will be when they report to us in January,” Davis said.
Davis bought eight of the shirts as Christmas gifts, framing the first for himself.
“I love the way it looks,” Davis said. “That was our first NIL deal. Allen and I are also proud this was the first item ever co-branded.”
Three FSU football players reach NIL agreements through Rising Spear
Three Florida State players are working with a new partner in conjunction with Rising Spear, the Name, Image, Likeness platform associated with FSU athletes. QB Jordan Travis, QB AJ Duffy, and S Jammie Robinson will take part in appearances as well as generate social-media posts with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend as part of this partnership with Rising Spear.
Rising Spear announced the partnership and agreements for FSU players via a press release on Tuesday morning. The full release can be viewed below:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Jan. 31, 2021) –Rising Spear, the platform to develop Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for Florida State University student-athletes announces a new partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend.
Rising Spear consists of two options for sponsors and athletes. Gold Standard includes for profit opportunities, and Garnet Spirit, a not-for-profit platform creating opportunities to engage FSU student-athletes through appearance fees, clinics, fundraising, community service projects and events supporting underserved communities.
“When we created Rising Spear, this is the type of partnership we envisioned as part of Garnet Spirit,” said Alan Flaumenhaft, Co-Founder of Rising Spear. “We can create opportunities to engage the student athletes while enriching lives of young people in the community.”
Student-athletes will be contracted for an agreed to number of appearances and social media posts that will feature the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Big Bend. The first three athletes under contract for this new partnership are AJ Duffy, Jammie Robinson and Jordan Travis from the Florida State football team.
“I have been a part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend for 17 years. During that time I’ve learned that it is the relationships built with a caring adult that truly changes children's lives,” said Kacy Dennis, Interim CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend. “The relationship that we are building with Rising Spear and the student-athletes has the potential to make a major impact on the youth in our programs and the disadvantaged communities that we serve.”
The top sports for NIL compensation through December 2021. pic.twitter.com/QsRhN6roLx
— Opendorse (@opendorse) January 13, 2022
The @GatorCollective just passed $500k in annualized revenue in roughly 5 months of existence.
— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) February 9, 2022
And that doesn't include 6 and 7 figure pledges outside of its standard subscriptions.
The #UFuture is bright for #NIL at Florida.
LifeWallet has set aside 10 million dollar for NIL deals. We are more than ready. #thetimeisnow https://t.co/S7xrPsMtGZ
— John H. Ruiz (@JohnHRuiz) January 12, 2022
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