Huge Number of Oklahoma Sooners Athletes Land NIL Deal with Local Company

Oklahoma athletes across several sports are cashing in on an NIL deal with a local company.

Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Gentry Williams (9) celebrates with Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Danny Stutsman (28), Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Jaren Kanak (7), and Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman Rondell Bothroyd (80) after Williams intercepted a pass during the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oklahoma Sooners football team has had a sponsorship the last few years with the Fowler Automotive Group. With NIL becoming more and more prevalent, they are looking to expand their portfolio beyond the football field.

The popular dealership that has locations throughout Oklahoma and Colorado is taking their involvement with Sooner athletes to another level. For the 2024-25 academic year, Fowler Automotive Group has more than doubled the number of athletes they are working with.

Throughout the season, ads will air during football games that feature more than 50 athletes across different sports. This deal was made possible as they worked with Learfield’s Sooner Sports Properties.

The appearance of football players was completed through NIL collectives. 22 athletes will be receiving cars as part of the deal as well.

“Our general managers and our salespeople and our activation are getting better and better at incorporating student-athlete influencer marketing into the deal-making process,” said Solly Fulp, Learfield’s executive vice president of NIL. “This is probably one of the best examples right now of humanizing the partnership with our student-athletes, from softball student-athletes to football student-athletes, and the stories that they can bring out in these campaigns, in their personalities provide deeper engagement with the university community.”

Along with football and softball, gymnastics and basketball players are set to be featured as well. Among the football team representatives are  Gavin Sawchuk, Jacob Sexton, Joshua Bates, Eddy Pierre-Louis, Nic Anderson and Damonic Williams.

The theme of the commercials are similar to the “This is SportsCenter” ads that ESPN has famously run for years. It is a fun way to get players involved in advertising for the company while giving them a chance to profit off of their name, image and likeness.

“With the entrance into the SEC coming, and this being the first year of that, the ability to pull this campaign off with these athletes has just been incredible,” Fowler Automotive president Jonathan Fowler told On3. “You talk about guys like Nic Anderson and Damonic Williams, these are big names that are going to be big-time players this year. It’s incredible. And then being able to tie in some of the other athletes from the other sports as we roll out the campaign, we’re excited to see what’s ahead.

“I’ve got a lot of trust with the people at Sooner Sports and have worked with them for a long time. They’re great people, and they do great work.”

It is less than a week until we will see those star football players take the field. The No. 16 ranked Sooners will be kicking off their 2024 season on Friday, August 30th against the Temple Owls.