Spartan Nation

REPORT: MSU's official NIL brand 'SD4L' cancels deals with dozens of football players

It's just one thing after another for the Michigan State football program...

Matthew Lounsberry

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The further we go into Michigan State's 2023 football season, the less we seem to get to talk about football.

Late Friday night, news broke that the university's official Name, Image and Likeness brand — Spartan Dawgs 4 Life (SD4L) — had cancelled or paused nearly all of its contracts with Michigan State football players.

According to an On3 Sports report, SD4L had deals with roughly 30 to 35 football players. While it remains unclear exactly how many of those contracts have been cancelled, WLNS reporter Audrey Dahlgren is reporting that "less than five" football players will continue to receive their NIL funding from SD4L, with all other football players being put "on pause until further notice."

Dahlgren was the first to report the news. In her original report, Dahlgren indicated that all of SD4L's contracts with football players had been cancelled, effective immediately, before providing her update.

Rivals.com affiliate Spartans Illustrated, via publisher David Harns, collaborated Dahlgren's report that some, not all, MSU football players have had their contracts cancelled. Harns is also reporting that another, non-official Michigan State NIL fund — 'This Is Sparta!' — "has stepped in to help in some way".

Shortly after news broke that SD4L was cancelling contracts with multiple football players, the brand posted its own update to social media platforms.

"SD4L has made the strategic decision to reduce our advertising budget with select student athletes in an effort to build a sustainable NIL model for our programs," the update reads. "Our platform has produced millions of dollars of NIL sponsorship opportunities to MSU student athletes and will continue to invest in campaigns that best promote the SD4L brand."

Spartan Dawgs 4 Life then detailed its struggles to grow as a brand, stating that they had secured under 100 subscriptions to date, falling significantly short of its projected growth models.

"We cannot sustain a model that is only funded by a few individuals who deserve our appreciation for supporting SD4L for two full seasons," the update continued. "Spartan Nation — it's up to you! We are calling all Spartans to step up and enroll now, as we prepare for the next chapter of supporting Spartan student-athletes... Enroll now!"

Spartan Dawgs 4 Life was named the official NIL brand of Michigan State University just a little over two weeks ago on Sept. 14. SD4L currently has contracts with every Michigan State men's basketball player, and those deals remain in place for the basketball program. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the football players, who have had their season completely flipped on its head this month with the termination of head coach Mel Tucker amidst sexual harassment allegations.

Michigan State football is scheduled to play Iowa at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night. NBC will carry the television broadcast, with the game also being available to watch on Peacock.

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Matthew Lounsberry
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