Howard Women's Basketball Signs Huge NIL Deal With Black Girl Vitamins
The world of NIL has allowed teams and players to sign deals with companies that make almost too much sense.
The Howard Bison Women's Basketball team is the latest in that regard as they signed an NIL deal to make Black Girl Vitamins the official supplement of their team, per Jasmine Brownley of Essence.
The HBCU is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Women's athletics at the school this season.
“I’m extremely excited about this partnership! As a huge supporter of those who positively impact the Black community and beyond, Black Girl Vitamins has created a brand and product that promotes health and well-being for us,” says head coach Ty Grace. “I look forward to the great things ahead!”
Grace has been at Howard for nine seasons with a 136-127 record and two regular season MEAC championships and one conference tournament win.
“Since its inception, Black Girl Vitamins has been at the forefront of promoting health and wellness within the Black community, offering a range of vitamins tailored specifically for Black women’s nutritional requirements,” said the company in a press release. “Furthering their commitment to education, a $1,000 monthly school scholarship is awarded to a deserving Black women student. In addition to the monthly scholarship program, Black Girl Vitamins has committed to awarding up to $100,000 this year to advance the careers of Black health practitioners because when Black women are healthy, our communities are too.”
The Bison have been at the forefront of NIL with their 'Mecca Society' collective. Earlier this month, track and field star Darci Khan announced a deal with WWE.
“By launching the University’s marquee NIL collective, we are going to further enhance our student-athletes’ NIL earning potential, and with the help of myNILpay, our diehard fanbase and alumni network now has an effortless platform to support their Bison family,” said Board Member Eric Grant in a statement last year. “This is only the beginning, but it’s clear that our student-athletes have as bright of a future as any in college athletics. We strongly encourage all Bison fans to support our student-athletes through the myNILpayapp.”
NIL has been especially important for HBCU programs, allowing a influx of money for the schools and players that were not given fair opportunites for far too long.
DYLAN SANDERS
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders