Many Clemson athletes have taken advantage of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals over the past year, and now some will have the opportunity to see their faces on college trading cards.
According to ESPN’s Dan Hajducky, the collectible company Topps will release trading cards featuring over 100 athletes, including Alabama’s Bryce Young and Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, beginning in 2023. These non-exclusive deals will allow the athletes to directly profit off of their NIL, with varying monetary values based on the player.
Meanwhile, Topps has also secured multi-year exclusive rights with more than 35 colleges. Although some schools will begin their involvement as early as 2023, others, such as Clemson and Alabama, will enter the deal in 2025. With these exclusive deals, official university trademarks will be used for current and former players.
Fanatics, who acquired Topps in January, believes this new trading card endeavor can be lucrative for all parties.
“Fanatics has been closely monitoring the ever-evolving NIL landscape, and we felt this was the perfect time to launch multiple, strategic college trading card programs that will allow schools and current student-athletes to create new levels of direct engagement with fans across hundreds of the top programs nationwide,” said Derek Eiler, Executive Vice President of Fanatics College.
As for Clemson athletes, one person who could be featured on the cards is quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who has previously signed deals with Bojangles and Dr. Pepper and is under Michael Vick’s advisement for future NIL deals.
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