Ex-Viking, Hawkeye Chad Greenway donates to rival Gophers' NIL fund

Greenway's Gray Duck Spirits presented a big donation to Dinkytown Athletes.

Chad Greenway donating 25,000 to Dinkytown Athletes. / Picture via: @DTAthletes on X

Former Vikings linebacker and team captain Chad Greenway may have played college football for one of Minnesota's top rivals, but his company Gray Duck Spirits recently donated $25,000 to the Gophers' official Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) collective as part of their current Nepsis Million Dollar Match campaign on Friday.

Greenway, who starred at Iowa in his college days before a decade-long NFL career, was part of the group that started Gray Duck Spirits. The company started out as a vodka brand but has since grown into producing other alcoholic beverages. For example, Dinkytown Athletes collaborated with them to create the Duck Duck Beer last season, and 20% of the sales go back into the NIL collective. So Greenway's partnership with Minnesota's NIL fund should not come as too much of a surprise.

Today we presented another check to @DTAthletes and we want to keep giving! Our goal is to give $1 MILLION per year to support Gopher athletes! The more Gray Duck you drink, the more money we give!

Let’s row the boat together! Your loyalty to Gray Duck will go a LONG way! pic.twitter.com/BbTArw2Y1Z

— Gray Duck Spirits (@grayduckspirits) November 8, 2024

This donation comes as a part of a current campaign being run by Dinkytown Athletes, called the Nepsis Million Dollar Match. From Oct. 24 to Nov. 10, the local investment services business will match donations to the fund 1 to 1, which seems to include Gray Duck's investment.

Greenway played at Iowa from 2001-05 and was a perfect 5-0 against the Gophers during that time. Most of the games weren't even close, with only one of the matchups being within one score. After a ten-year career with the Vikings, the South Dakota native has adopted Minnesota as a second home.

Dinkytown Athletes continues to do all it can to help Gopher athletics remain competitive in the ever-changing NIL landscape. On Oct. 31, it was announced that the athletic department and Dinkytown Athletes expanded their partnership to include the Golden Gopher Fund, which is just another way for fans to donate in support of Gopher athletes.

Schools like Ohio State or Michigan have astronomical athletic department budgets and the Gophers might never reach those levels, but they're doing all they can to remain competitive.