Tag: Sydney Wolf

Penn State football returns in 9 weeks

Penn State football players were among the thousands taking early advantage of NIL opportunities this week.

The weekly countdown to the return of Penn State football enters single digits this week. In nine weeks, the Nittany Lions will begin their 2021 campaign on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers in FOX’s Big noon Kickoff. And as we move into the month of July, it is beginning to feel like Penn State football really will be here before we know it.

The focus this week shifted away from actual games, however, and focused on a nexus event in the world of college athletics (shoutout to those who have been watching Loki who understood that reference) with the NCAA adopting an interim policy to allow student-athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness for the first time ever. The NCAA decision came out shortly after Pennsylvania signed new legislation to allow all student-athletes in Pennsylvania to benefit from NIL opportunities.

A handful of Penn State’s student-athletes have hopped on for some early NIL opportunities. As noted by Onward State this week, Barstool Athletics (which launched the other day and does….. things, I suppose?) has signed a few Nittany Lions, including wrestler Roman Bravo-Young and women’s lacrosse player Sydney Wolf.

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford stressed the importance of college athletes taking the proper precautions to ensure they are getting involved in the best possible deals and not being taken advantage of. In the meantime, Clifford has signed up for Cameo, where customers can pay to have a celebrity or athlete record a personalized video message.

Among the big winners in the first week of the NIL era may have been YOKE Gaming, where fans can play video games with student-athletes. YOKE is now partnered with thousands of college athletes, including Penn State linebacker Brandon Smith.

We expect to see plenty more in the NIL era coming our way and continue to look forward to seeing how players are taking advantage of these new opportunities. Penn State has formally launched its own NIL program to assist student-athletes in properly setting themselves up for NIL opportunities. Hopefully this all goes smoothly for everyone involved.

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