Louisville Golfer Cooper Claycomb Partners with State Line Co.
Yesterday, State Line Co., a Kentucky-based apparel company, announced a NIL partnership with Cooper Claycomb, a University of Louisville golfer. Claycomb, a rising sophomore, came in last season as the fifty-fifth-ranked recruit in the nation and had an immediate impact on the course, posting the third-lowest scoring average on the team as a freshman.
However, in a non-revenue sport like golf, it often takes more than just an effective swing to catch the attention of sponsors. Claycomb currently boasts thirteen thousand Instagram followers, and with that number expected to grow in the positive feedback loop of NIL deals, he demonstrates major upside for influencer-based marketing.
State Line Co. was initially launched in August 2023 as a social media account to document hunting, tailgating, and golf content. The creators, Johnathon McClure, Cody Likins, and Hugh Romine, wore custom hats in the videos, and a small apparel company was born this January to cater to the demand for their unique apparel.
The company has been aware of Cooper for a while: “We met Cooper very early in our apparel launches because he followed us on social media. We got to know Cooper, and he helped us early on with several of our hat launches and some golf content… we formed a relationship with Cooper as a person and believe in him as an athlete.”
We are pleased to announce the signing of our FIRST official NIL athlete here at StateLineCo! We are thrilled to welcome Cooper Claycomb to the team and look forward to building on our great relationship for many years to come! Welcome to the team, Cooper! pic.twitter.com/QhzWGrCn74
— State Line Co. (@StateLineCo) June 25, 2024
Claycomb’s success in the NIL world is an important reminder for all athletes to align themselves exclusively with the brands they support, regardless of sport or influencer status. In any influencer partnership, the company’s product, mission, and even geography will be transmuted to the athlete and their personal brand. Partnerships built around mutual respect last, and those partnerships help define you as a candidate for future opportunities with like-minded companies.
There is no doubt that mutual respect exists between Claycomb and State Line Co. According to the company, Claycomb “portrays values we believe in as a company, and we view Cooper as an athlete that has long-term potential in his sport. He’s very disciplined, hard-working, and has all the fundamentals to be a great student-athlete.” For non-revenue athletes without a giant following, finding alignment in values continues to be the recipe for valuable NIL partnerships.
Representatives from State Line Co. indicate that they are working diligently to expand their reach into the NIL space. Maintaining a commitment to upholding their company’s mission, State Line Co. stated that they are “in discussion with several other athletes that we believe align with our ideas for our future and believe we are a brand that matches well with them and their future.”
State Line Co., a relatively new player in the apparel business, has jumped head-first into the NIL space. For many upstart companies looking to gain traction in saturated markets, NIL presents a wonderful opportunity to tap into the tribal fanbases of colleges. Institutions with devout fanbases surround the Kentucky/Ohio state line: Louisville, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Xavier, Miami (OH), and several others; leveraging prominent athletes at these schools can do wonders towards broadening company awareness.
NOAH HENDERSON
Professor Noah Henderson teaches in the sport management department at Loyola University Chicago. Outside the classroom, he advises companies, schools, and collectives on Name, Image, and Likeness best practices. His academic research focuses on the intersection of law, economics, and social consequences regarding college athletics, NIL, and sports gambling. Before teaching, Prof. Henderson was part of a team that amended Illinois NIL legislation and managed NIL collectives at the nation’s most prominent athletic institutions while working for industry leader Student Athlete NIL. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Economics from Saint Joseph’s University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the golf team. Prof. Henderson is a native of San Diego, California, and a former golf CIF state champion with Torrey Pines High School. Outside of athletics, he enjoys playing guitar, hanging out with dogs, and eating California burritos. You can follow him on Twitter: @NoahImgLikeness.