Tupelo-based Blue Delta Jeans offers every player on Ole Miss football team NIL deal

Sep. 21—OXFORD — Every player on the Ole Miss football team has been offered an endorsement contract with Tupelo-based jeans company Blue Delta Jeans.

According to co-owners Josh West and Nick Weaver, each player who signs a deal will get a pair of custom-made jeans — which usually sell for $450-$500 a pair — in exchange for social media posts promoting the product. Each player will receive $100 for each pair of jeans he sells.

So far, 33 players on the team have signed contracts, and 44 have been fitted for jeans, according to Weaver, who is also the COO.

Forbes first reported the story on Monday.

"We have never dabbled in college sports because, obviously, before this year, it wasn't legal," Weaver said. "We didn't want to cherrypick a few players ... What we wanted to do for one we wanted to do for all."

Name, image and likeness (NIL) is still a fairly new concept in college sports. Starting in July, student-athletes have been able to profit off of their likeness for the first time. Athletes across the nation have signed deals with clothing companies, restaurants and the like.

"It's really impressive. You have a chance to build your brand before you get ready to go to the next level and build your brand while you're here," senior linebacker Lakia Henry said. "It's a great opportunity. It really is."

Blue Delta, founded in 2011, is a custom jeans manufacturer that bases fits on 16 different measurements; each pair is unique. The company currently employs 47 people, 30 or so of which do the sewing itself, according to West, who also serves as CEO. West and Weaver are gradeschool friends.

The basis for the company itself came from the fact Tupelo has always had a firm rooting in craftsmanship, particularly in sewing.

"We based the company on the sewing talent," West said. "The only way it works is because our product is really good. You have to have a level of sewing ability."

The jeans are admittedly expensive but make a lot of sense for the athlete demographic, West said. Their bodies are often very different from that of a standard person, and a regular pair of jeans might not provide the best possible fit.

Ole Miss junior running back Jerrion Ealy was asked about what a team-wide NIL offer means.

"It's very cool," Ealy said. "You don't really see that. How many teams have done that? Maybe two, three I've seen on social media ... That's great. I mean, everybody gets the opportunity to have a deal. And that's what NIL was created for. So, I'm all for it.

Blue Delta is providing the jeans for Team USA in the Ryder Cup and has clients such as ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit and several Ole Miss coaches, including basketball coach Kermit Davis and baseball coach Mike Bianco. Dallas Cowboys star and former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott is also one of their clients.

The company has a showroom located in Oxford.

"Because we are a jean that anyone can wear, we wanted to fit everybody on the team," West said."(Doesn't) matter your shape or size or what your job is. We can fit you."

While the move is beneficial for Blue Delta itself in terms of advertisement, Weaver said the hope is that this move spurs other local companies to start inking deals with athletes.

"We want other companies in Mississippi to follow suit," he said.