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Michigan's National Championship Hero Edwards Launches New Leaf Trading Card

Backup running back Donovan Edwards' historic performance commemorated in limited edition card

Michael Ehrlich

Michigan's National Championship Hero Edwards Launches New Leaf Trading Card
Michigan's National Championship Hero Edwards Launches New Leaf Trading Card /
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What a week it has been for Michigan backup running back Donovan Edwards. From making history in Monday's National Championship to working the counter at a Houston Raising Cane's location as part of a new NIL partnership to now launching a commemorative Leaf trading card celebrating his College Football Playoff performance.

Featured ahead of the Big Ten Championship in Leaf's "BET" series of Michigan cards - including Coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback J.J. McCarthy - Edwards now earned his own "Championship Game Standouts" autographed card.

The card, on sale now, features Edwards' signature and stat line of six carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns. The junior running back combined with Blake Corum for all of Michigan's National Championship Game touchdowns and made history as the first team in CFP title game history to have two rushers of over 100 yards.

In addition to Edwards' "Championship Game Standouts" autographed card, Leaf has launched another "BET" card, this time for backup quarterback and Robert Griffin III's favorite Wolverine, backup quarterback Alex Orji.

"Leaf Trading Cards is excited to unveil the Donovan Edwards Autograph card from the Leaf Championship Game Standouts series and the Alex Orji BET Autograph edition," CJ Breen, Leaf's Director Of Marketing and Licensing shared with Sports Illustrated. "Our strong connection with Wolverines remains steadfast, and we're proud to be a leader in the NIL space. Under Josh Pankow's leadership, solidifying our status as a premier name in the industry."

With multiple NIL deals in place this week after his National Championship game performance, expect Edwards to one of the most active athletes in offseason deal flow, heading into a senior season where he is expected to take over running back duties from All-American Corum.

 

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Michael Ehrlich
MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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