Kansas City businesses are way behind St. Louis in college student-athlete promotions | Opinion
In this new era of name, image and likeness in college sports, St. Louis has made a splash promoting University of Missouri athletes. Have you seen the special edition Old Vienna potato chip bag with Tigers star wide receiver Luther Burden on it?
We have. The image and packaging really do make some of us want the snack. Careful, though. Those chips are hot.
Kansas City businesses may be late to the NIL party. And that’s OK. We can’t let the early start from our counterparts from across Missouri stop local entrepreneurs from getting involved. Business is open for athletes at Mizzou and other universities around the state.
Beginning Sept. 1, Missouri high school athletes staying home to attend a state school can cash in, too.
Reform in college sports was a necessary evil. In the billion-dollar industry that is college sports, student-athletes deserve opportunities to make money off their talent.
“There is so much opportunity. But there is education involved,” said Nick Garner, executive director of Every True Tiger Foundation, a Mizzou-affiliated NIL collective spearheading marketing deals for athletes at the school.
In Kansas City, some business owners have started collecting donations and monthly pledges from individuals and corporations to support MU’s NIL collective. So far, St. Louis businesses have invested more heavily in Mizzou athletes through NIL deals. Not so much here.
What would it take for Kansas City to spend on Missouri athletes as St. Louis has? Businesses in St. Louis may need to see a return on their involvement with Mizzou athletes before Kansas City business leaders get more involved, Garner said.
“From Kansas City’s standpoint, it is our hope to use these St. Louis companies as an example,” he said. “How can Kansas City businesses see the blueprint and how to get involved? NIL will live past the athlete. Who is going to be on the next bag of chips?”
We wanted to ask MU officials about NIL efforts in Kansas City. Attempts to reach Missouri athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois and other department officials were unsuccessful.
MU wide receiver sells potato chips, pizza, banking services
By most accounts, Burden is a budding superstar on the football field with tons of marketing potential. Away from the gridiron, Burden is perhaps Mizzou’s top pitchman. He has inked deals with St. Louis-based companies Old Vienna, Imo’s Pizza and Commerce Bank. If he performs well this season, Burden could cash in even more on his immense talent.
Last weekend in Columbia, Burden, the team’s poster child on the name, image and likeness front, hosted a meet and greet for fans at Schnucks, a St. Louis-based grocer. As part of the promotion, Burden mingled with fans and signed autographs for anyone who purchased the Luther Burden Honey BBQ Red Hot Riplets potato chips that bear his name and image on the bag.
This fall, expect to see Burden and Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook in print, online and billboard advertising for Imo’s — do you see where we are going with this? — a St. Louis-based pizza chain.
In July, frozen pizzas with other MU football players on the package were released in 83 Schnucks stores. Athletes from other sports will rotate on the cover, Garner said. Some of them may not have the NIL value of Burden. But a chance to earn a few bucks while in college is what name, image and likeness rights are really about.
How so? Think of the young athletes who can’t afford a car or a plane ticket home for the holidays. Paying them could alleviate the financial burden on their families.
Students bring their social media fame to colleges
On Monday, a state law goes into effect that allows any athlete in Missouri who signs a financial aid agreement with an in-state institution to make money off NIL deals starting next month. Will Kansas City-area businesses see the benefit in using local athletes to pitch products? They’d be wise to do so, marketing pros told us.
The law, signed by Gov. Mike Parson, is one of the more progressive – or least restrictive — NIL measures in the country. On Sept. 1, high school athletes from this state who stay home while they get a higher education can secure financial agreements with businesses before they step foot on a college campus.
Talk about leveling the playing field. For years, coaches and administrators have earned millions of dollars off the backs of kids. Young athletes are now able to legally benefit from their own talent, a development we all should support.
Some of today’s brightest young stars from Kansas City — Lee’s Summit North football player Williams Nwaneri, the No. 1 recruit in the nation, comes to mind — have large social media followings. On-field success will ultimately lead to more opportunities for local athletes to cash in by promoting area companies.
Kansas City businesses should be at the forefront of the NIL movement in Missouri, not standing on the outside looking in.
