The BYU athletic department announced a deal with a corporate sponsor on Thursday that will allow all the team’s walk-ons to have their tuition covered.
Built Brands, already an advertiser with BYU athletics, will be entering into name, image, likeness (NIL) deals with all 123 players on the football team, with an expansion of its current sponsorship with the athletic department as well.
The biggest piece of positive news in the deal is the protein-bar company covering walk-ons’ tuition.
“From the beginning of the NIL discussion, my hope was that changes to NCAA rules and regulations would provide a pathway forward for all players to benefit more fully from their name, image, and likeness, especially walk-ons who sacrifice so much to make our program great,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said.
“When (Built Brands CEO) Nick Greer called to tell me that Built was committed to entering into NIL deals which would pay our walk-ons enough money to cover their tuition for the full academic year, I could not hold back my emotions.”
As part of the agreement, players will wear Built branding on their practice helmets and do experiential and social events for the company.
–Field Level Media