Trevor Lawrence has gained yet another endorsement deal.
As the draft closes in, Trevor Lawrence has continued to gain endorsement deals before his journey in the NFL. Earlier this month, he was nearing a deal with Adidas, and before that, he had inked a deal with Topps for his own special edition trading card set. Now, with less than a week before the draft, Lawrence has inked an endorsement deal with Gatorade.
Lawrence, who is expected to be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ choice with the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, also made history with his deal by becoming the first quarterback since Cam Newton to sign with the hydration and sports science company.
Like most athletes, Gatorade has been a pivotal part of Lawrence’s career for a long time, but most recently at Clemson. For that reason, he felt like he was a perfect fit for the company.
“Signing with Gatorade was an easy choice,” said Lawrence per Gatorade’s public relations department. “I have deep ties to the brand, and I’ve used most of the products throughout my entire athletic journey. It’s important to me to surround myself with the best, and I believe that Gatorade is just that when it comes to sports science, hydration and elevating my performance.”
Clearly, based on the history Lawrence has made for the NFL with Gatorade, the company chooses its football athletes wisely. However, with Lawrence being a leader on the field and an obvious user of their products, Gatorade global head of sports marketing, Jeff Kearney, knew that it was a must to sign Lawrence.
“We want to work with athletes who are leaders among their peers, committed to performance and authentic users of our products,” said Kearney. “Trevor is all of those things, and with his help we hope to inspire and fuel the next generation of athletes.”
Lawrence joins a Gatorade roster with young athletes like Fernando Tatis Jr., Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum, Matthew Wolff, Mallory Pugh, and Sydney McLaughlin to name a few. Needless to say, this is a deal that should help Lawrence perform at a high level as he is clearly a believer in sports science like his soon-to-be head coach Urban Meyer.
Trevor Lawrence has joined the Gatorade family of athletes that endorse the sports drink.
It’s good to be Trevor Lawrence.
The Clemson quarterback is having one of the best months of his life.
At 21, Lawrence recently married Marissa Mowry.
He is the presumptive No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, which begins in less than a week, on April 29.
And on Friday, the future Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback landed a seven-figure endorsement deal with Gatorade.
The leading sports energy drink has Clemson colors — purple and orange — but matching up with the Jags-themed uniforms could be a challenge, black, gold, teal and white.
Lawrence’s deal with Gatorade could be worth up to $2 million, said Bob Dorfman, a creative director at Baker Street Advertising who rates endorsement potential.
“From our point of view, he’s a terrific fit for our core brand … We see him as being a hero for that flagship product,” Jeff Kearney, Gatorade’s global head of sports marketing, said.
Jimbo Fisher took off in a sprint as Texas A&M players attempted to douse him with Gatorade
It is a tradition — to the point where it has become monotonous — for winning coaches to get the Gatorade bath.
In the bowl games, with the final minutes dragging and dragging, the broadcasts have spent what seemed like an eternity waiting for the players to douse their coach.
Finally, at the end of the Orange Bowl on Saturday, a coach showed guile in avoiding the energy-drink shower.
Check out Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher as he breaks into a dead spring to get away from the Aggies and their attempt to pour the bucket of liquid over him after the 41-27 victory over North Carolina.
Gatorade announced its partnership with Matthew Wolff Tuesday: their first such endorsement deal since Woods in 2007.
Gatorade is among the most recognizable brands in sports, but the company hasn’t made much of a splash in the golf world since partnering with Tiger Woods in October 2007. That changed Tuesday when the world-famous sports fuel company announced it had signed Matthew Wolff.
“You know if you’re a Gatorade athlete, you know you’re at an elite level and I’m just really happy to be a part of their team,” Wolff said.
It’s been a big year for the former Oklahoma State player. At just 21 years old, Wolff is the No. 14-ranked golfer in the world. He has four top-five finishes in 2020, including a T-4 at the PGA Championship and solo second behind Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open. Following Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods, the native Californian was only the third player ever to win an NCAA title and a PGA Tour event in the same calendar year.
More than anything else, Wolff may be known for his non-traditional swing – one that clearly produces results.
“To us, every athlete is unique, with specific, individual fueling needs,” said Jeff Kearney, Gatorade’s head of global sports marketing. “We look at a guy like Matthew Wolff, whose swing alone is a symbolic reflection of that principle and whose approach is workman-like confidence, and we see a great fit for Gatorade and our BOLT24 expanding portfolio.”
PGA Golfer Matthew Wolff on the set on an upcoming commercial for BOLT24, the newest drink from Gatorade. Provided by Jason Belenke
Wolff joins a battery of young superstars on the Gatorade roster, including NFL tight end George Kittle, U.S. national soccer player Mallory Pugh, track and field Olympian Sydney McLaughlin and NBA talents Zion Willamson, Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Wolff’s first project will be an ad campaign for one of Gatorade’s newest brands, BOLT24, set to release this December. There are two kinds of BOLT24: one called ANTIOXIDANT, with antioxidant vitamins A and C, and another, called ENERGIZE, with caffeine.
The NFL and Gatorade have found new ways to keep players hydrated without risking any sanitary practices while playing football amid COVID-19.
The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the first game of pandemic football. Even though grown men colliding with each other and swapping sweat is an unavoidable part of the game, there are aspects that can be improved upon to provide for sanitary practices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
While NFL teams conduct copious amounts of testing for players, staff, and coaches, and the presumption of safe social distancing is afforded for all involved, the league still seeks to eliminate possible points of transmission.
Take for example the hydration breaks during timeouts. Prior to 2020, training staff would come out with a squirt bottle and hand towels to freshen up players. It probably isn’t prudent to have men sharing a squirt bottle during COVID-19.
For these reasons, Gatorade worked with the NFL and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society to create solutions that would reduce possible exposure and cross-contamination.
Instead of a communal bottle, players each get a personalized bottle. The bottles are stored on “bottle trees” on wheels that staff can easily transport during timeouts. On the bench, the bottles are stored on troughs that help organize and store the items safely on the sidelines.
The NFL is also providing additional towels to be used for one-time use.
Photo by Reed Hoffmann/AP/Shutterstock
Photo by Reed Hoffmann/AP/Shutterstock
“We’re kicking it off,” Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson told reporters on Sept. 7 “We’re the head honchos for the NFL, us and the Chiefs, to be able to show and see what the 2020 season is going to be like. Everything has been going well so far.”
With the NFL, Gatorade, and the PFATS finding new ways to safely hydrate players without cross-contamination, it is the attention to detail football, the ultimately game of inches, needs to play a full season during the pandemic.
The two top athletes were surprised by some famous faces in their respective sports, including Sue Bird, Peyton Manning, JJ Watt, and more.
It was just a typical morning for Arik Gilbert and Paige Bueckers.
Gilbert, the former Marietta High School (Maritetta, Ga.) football standout, has been acclimating to college life since January in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he looks to begin the next chapter of his football career under head coach Ed Orgeron and the defending BCS national champion LSU Tigers.
As the day began, he prepared for tutoring…ordinary routines…until his brother came and got him, explaining that they needed to leave.
Where? Why?
Arik didn’t have a clue, but followed his brother’s lead where he entered a room filled with balloons, with each step taken toward the chair in front of the television being filmed.
Up north, Bueckers was preparing for what she thought was nothing more than a photoshoot and a fun segment for her YouTube channel that would feature “A Day in the Life” of the Hopkins High School (Minnetonka, Minn.) basketball star.
She sat down with the surrounding cameras ready to roll—but first, Paige was urged to watch a family video, an excellent college sendoff before she headed to UConn.
And that’s where the day, for both student-athletes, turned from routine to history-making to everything you’d expect when learning you are the 2019-20 Gatorade Male and Female Athlete of the Year, including getting to see some of your idols sending messages—as fans of you!
(Check out the surprise announcement and cameos here:)
To be named Gatorade Athlete of the Year is one of those achievements where the incredible odds causes people to tilt their heads and squint, a universally accepted mathematical gesture for “Wait. What?”
It’s not easy. Bueckers and Gilbert were tops among roughly 2.3 and 3.3 million other kids, respectively, who competed in the 12 Gatorade Player of the Year program sports. Even they have trouble grasping the magnitude of that sentence, the culmination of hard work it took over their entire high school years.
“As a freshman—freshman me—never thought about winning an award like this,” Gilbert explained to USA Today Sports via phone call. “And to accomplish this…I don’t know…I’m at a loss for words for how grateful I am.”
Bueckers added the same sentiment: “It still hasn’t sunk in for me yet,” she admitted. “It’s really just mind-blowing and crazy to think about what was being said in the video…it’s amazing, a blessing—it was just everything.”
Then again, neither of them are middle-of-pack talents, both on and off the field.
Paige Bueckers is a pure basketball star. She was the nation’s top recruit (ESPN), she won gold with the USA Basketball U19 Women’s World Cup Team (plus tournament MVP), she was named the 2020 Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year, and helped lead her team an undefeated 2019-20 season. And that’s just a few of her accolades.
Off the court she carried the same type of elevated excellence. Besides an impressive 3.8 GPA, she created a series of youth basketball clinics called, “Buckets With Bueckers,” which offered free admission to players in Minnesota and Montana, while raising funds for local charities through donations and corporate sponsorships.
Arik Gilbert was a nightmare for opposing defenses for several years, fitting the modern-era tight end—one with the speed and agility of a shifty wideout, complemented by the strength and size that takes a handful of defenders to bring down (a young Georg Kittle, if you will).
He was a major part of the Blue Devils’s first-ever Georgia Class 7A state title, and the No. 1-ranked tight end prospect in America (ESPN and Rivals). And winning the Gatorade Make AOY as a tight end is a first in the award’s impressive history.
Off the gridiron, Gilbert had the same leadership that seemingly placed him beyond is years. His campus-wide initiative called “Whisper,” urged students to have device-free conversations, supporting diversity and inclusion efforts. He spent more than 50 hours volunteering at Marietta elementary schools and the Marietta Youth Football program while carrying a 3.14 GPA.
Stepping back and just looking at those resumes, it wasn’t difficult to see why such top-level pro athletes—like Atlanta Falcons’ Todd Gurley and Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner—were such big fans.
Each matched the other’s excitement when discussing these two special talents over the phone.
Griner, who is preparing for the 22-game season in the WNBA bubble at the IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), summed it up perfectly about Bueckers: “She’s crushing it on the court, and—which totally adds to the prestige—she’s crushing it in the classroom, the community.”
The tone in her voice jumped as she reminded me: “And also, that 3.8 GPA? I mean, come on!”
Falcons new running back Todd Gurley had similar perfection when discussing Gilbert’s achievement: “Being from the Atlanta area, and going to an SEC school—and then being able to win the [Gatorade] Male Athlete of the Year award? It’s definitely huge for him. And not just for him, but his family. It’s such an honor and a great accomplishment.”
Of course, when both Paige and Arik were asked to expand on such great words from the impactful faces in their respective games, their attention shifted, highlighting an often overlooked attribute.
“Winning this award, it also brought back really great memories, the experiences in high school, and the great relationships I built,” Bueckers reminisced.
Gilbert touched on a related thought: “My teammates played such a huge part in everything. I saw them as my brothers, and we made each other better. They were some of my best friends, and my best motivators.”
And there you have it, just two award-winning athletes, shifting the focus from themselves to others during an interview—a typical day for the kind of person you’d expect to win this award.
Special thanks to Paige Bueckers, Arik Gilbert, Brittney Griner, and Todd Gurley. For more information about the Gatorade Player of the Year program check out the website here.
Todd Gurley stars in Gatorade’s “Ready to Play. Anything” campaign, showing his eagerness to play just about anything, along with Zion Williamson, Elena Delle Donne, Sydney McLaughlin and Bryce Harper.
With the country locked down in various degrees due to the COVID-19 outbreak, athletes are getting a bit restless.
That’s the idea behind Gatorade’s new “Ready to play anything” campaign. Gurley stars alongside Zion Williamson, Elena Delle Donne, Sydney McLaughlin and Bryce Harper in a thirty-second advertisement, which you can see below:
The Atlanta Falcons’ new running back discussed his participation in the commercial and how eager he is to get back to sports.
“There’s nothing better than sports, and athletes can’t wait to get back to get back to doing what they love with their teams. Gatorade is inspiring the next generations of athletes by showing how the pros are down to play any sport, at any time, just because we love to play,” said Gurley.
It’s safe to say Falcons fans agree with this sentiment, as even the new Madden NFL 21 ratings have created excitement.
Taylor Ewert is more than just one in a million. Learn more about this year’s Gatorade National Girls Track and field Athlete of the Year.
To say that Taylor Ewert is one in a million downplays how extraordinary the track and field standout from Beavercreek High School (Ohio) truly is—and it took about 30 seconds chatting with the Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year to understand that.
An hour removed from getting a surprise she’ll never forget—when a seemingly simple interview turned into a celebration—Taylor found herself in territory alongside names like Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning and Abby Wambach. But the calm that resonated through the phone wasn’t what you’d expect, especially considering what she had just experienced:
“My mom said I had a casual interview with ESPN, so got on the Zoom call—I was doing the interview—and then all of a sudden, she was in the corner with the Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year trophy,” Taylor explained to USA Today Sports.
With the help of Taylor’s mom, Teri, the in-home presentation took on a feel-good moment that sometimes only the impromptu can create. Taylor laughed a bit, and then paused, when asked if the top secret operation went down without any hitches—”I’m not someone who is very big on surprises, she admitted, “I always know what’s going on, I always have a plan.”
In other words—mission: accomplished.
The honor came against a pinnacle of talent in girls track and field, with over one million student athletes in consideration. Of the 51 other finalists this year, seven were All-American honorees, 40 volunteered at multiple organizations, and 25 carried a 4.0 GPA (or higher!).
But Taylor topped them all, and now has an opportunity to win Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year in July. And when you look at the resume, there’s little doubt as to why she is in such prestigious company:
3.49 GPA (weighted)
Won the 1600-meter run (4:52.02) and the 3200-meter run (10:34.79) at the 2020 Division 1 indoor state meet.
Named The Gatorade Ohio Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Won the two-mile event at the University of Kentucky High School Invitational in March (10:18.94), which ranked as the a top-3 performance among prep indoor competitors.
Clocked U.S. Top 10 prep times in three indoor events in 2020 and U.S. Top 20 in three outdoor events in 2019.
The state champion in the 3200 last spring, she also won the 2000-meter steeplechase at the 2019 New Balance Nationals Outdoor, while placing second in the mile and the 4×800 relay.
Personal-best time in the steeplechase ranks seventh in prep history, and she’s also ranked in the all-time Top 35 for the indoor two-mile and the all-time Top 50 in the outdoor mile among high school girls.
She holds seven national high school records in race-walking as well as seven American U20 records in that sport.
“Taylor is one of a kind and an absolute joy to coach,” her Beavercreek High School distance coach Howard Russ said in a statement. “The quality that really makes her different from other athletes is her attention to details. She’s the most driven athlete that I’ve ever coached.”
And her off-field achievements and efforts, which are equally important to the Gatorade Player of the Year program, are just as impressive.
Behind the record-setting athleticism is a talented artist, one with an eye for detail. “I’m always working on art, little projects,” she explained as her tone turned to an excited reflection. “It’s a nice break from the running and training.”
When she’s not busy with training—which is in full force as she gets ready to head to the University of Arkansas in August—or working in watercolors, Taylor has also made time for the community. She’s been an altar server at Wright Patterson Air Force Base Chapel for six years, supported the homeless through AFB Chapel Youth Group, and has served as an inspirational speaker. Plus, she teaches a mini-class on racewalking, even taking time during the interview to lend a little advice: “Stretch before, racewalking puts a lot of strain on your hamstrings. So get in a good stretch.”
(Noted. And, thank you.)
Before our conversation ended, we talked briefly about her family. Her mom and dad (Brian) both were runners, and her two brothers (Ben and Connor) are also accomplished track and field standouts. So, of course, I had to know: Who would win the steeplechase?
Although it didn’t seem set in stone, Taylor placed herself at third, with her brothers ahead—”I think my form is better than theirs,” she clarified—followed by her mom, and then dad trailing last. “But,”—she stopped for a moment, the way you’d expect someone who’s searching for some positivity to do—”as long as you’re breaking a sweat, and you’re enjoying yourself…I think at the end of the day, that’s what counts.”
She’s more like one in two million.
(Special thanks to Taylor Ewert and Jason Belenke (Gatorade Player of the Year Program) for the interview. To see past winners and learn more about the Gatorade Player of Year check out the website here.)
