Kansas football's Devin Neal, Kenny Logan Jr. want to do more NIL work for charities

LAWRENCE — Devin Neal and Kenny Logan Jr. each had reasons to be excited about this week.

The two Kansas football players, Neal a running back and Logan a safety, were able to enjoy a bit of a break ahead of returning to campus. Logan said there was a team meeting Monday, and both said workouts were set to start up Tuesday.

Both expressed an eagerness to get back to work, ahead of Neal’s second season with the Jayhawks and Logan’s fourth. Logan acknowledged the confidence boost that comes with the various transfer commitments Kansas has earned, especially in the secondary. And those newcomers join a group that already has athletes Logan thinks people should be keeping an eye on, like a safety in O.J. Burroughs who’ll be a sophomore this fall, and others.

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But, off the field Monday, there was another reason for Neal and Logan to be excited.

They were at the 5K Home Run supporting Family Promise of Lawrence, which is an organization that assists families in Douglas County experiencing a housing crisis. Their participation represented an intersection of the name, image and likeness (NIL) space and work with a charitable organization — an intersection that the two of them would like to see continue moving forward.

“I definitely see this could lead to future charitable things, and just doing some good for the community,” said Neal, who was also joined by other fellow Jayhawks teammates. “And I sure hope that other organizations come to me and a few other football guys, because I think we could be great representation for their programs.”

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Logan added: “I was definitely excited about this opportunity, but if more opportunities come up for me to be a part of, and me to help out, I’m definitely going to accept them.”

Logan said it’s always a great feeling to contribute to a community and show people he’s more than just a football player, and that he has outside interests that he cares about. While at the event Monday, he said they signed autographs, cheered people on and more. It excited Logan, just seeing everyone smiling.

He and Neal said this was the first charitable NIL endeavor they’d each been involved in. Neither may have known much about Family Promise of Lawrence before their involvement around this event. But that’s changed, and they’ve been able to learn more about the issue Family Promise of Lawrence is fighting.

Neal, who grew up in Lawrence, took away more than anything that many homeless people in Lawrence have children who are in need. He realized just how many people in that situation the organization has helped. It motivated him to want to see those kids and families have better opportunities.

Logan, who came to Kansas out of a high school in Florida, learned that what Family Promise of Lawrence is working to improve is a more prevalent issue than he realized. The event page said that in 2021, the agency served 312 families — including 1,000 people, 560 being children. According to a tweet from Neal ahead of the event, since March 2020, the agency has helped more than 1,600 members of the community.

“It’s actually something that I envisioned more doing instead of doing the more stuff for myself, because that’s just the type of person that I want to be growing up, that helps my community,” said Neal, speaking to working on this type of NIL endeavor with a charitable organization. “And, just, now that I have the avenue to be able to do, that it means a lot more. So, I’ll gladly love to keep doing stuff like this and it doesn’t even have to necessarily be for money. I would just love to do charitable events.”

Logan, speaking to why he’d be involved with a charitable organization through NIL, said: “I’ve always loved helping people and I’ve always loved trying to show my face in the community. So, any time something like this (happens), or any time one of the charitable organizations reach out to me, I’m going to always try to participate in it — just because I’m giving back to the community as they come out and support us in the stadiums on Saturday.”

Neal said he couldn’t have said a year ago that he’d be able to be in the position he is now. But he feels blessed that he has a platform to be able to reach people and help his community. It means a lot to him, understandably, because he’s from Lawrence.

And that’s why it was so cool for Neal to see his teammates involved, too. He thinks they feel a sense of home as well, even though they aren’t from the area, considering how long Logan’s been around and the fact that offensive lineman in Earl Bostick Jr., from Barnwell, South Carolina, has been around even longer. Neal sees them investing in the community.

“I definitely feel like I’ve built a relationship with the community, because any time it has something to do with that, I’m always trying to reach out, get around kids or get around, just, in the community,” Logan said. “Just to show my face and show my support, also.”

According to Family Promise of Lawrence’s website, it’s one of more than 200 affiliates of a national Family Promise organization. Together, they’re looking to affect the future of 1 million children by 2030. The local organization’s website lists ways people can both donate and reach out for assistance.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football's Devin Neal, Kenny Logan Jr. enjoy NIL charity work