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Memphis Tigers Running Back Signs NIL Deal With Trading Card Company

The Memphis Tigers star running back recently inked an interesting NIL deal with a trading card company.

Dylan Sanders

Memphis' Mario Anderson (2) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the game between Memphis and North Alabama at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, August 31, 2024.
Memphis' Mario Anderson (2) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the game between Memphis and North Alabama at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, August 31, 2024. / Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Memphis Tigers season got off to a nice start last weekend and one of their players used that momentum to land a new NIL deal.

Running back Mario Anderson Jr. recently shared a post on X that shared the news of him becoming a partner with Leaf Trading Cards.

Leaf Trading Cards is Dallas, Texas based company that was founded in 2010. It's an NIL deal that makes sense for a brand looking to grow their presence in the football world and is following a recent trend of the brand signing football players to deals.

They've had their foot in the door of the college game for a while with players like Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava, former USC Trojans passer Caleb Williams and more.

Leaf has also signed deals with high school players like Julian Lewis and George MacIntyre.

Trading cards as an industry has taken off again in recent years with the hobby finding popularity in the newer generation. "Pokemon" and "Magic the Gathering" have been mainstays, but sports cards definitely took a hit for a while.

It makes sense for Anderson, taking advantage of a bigger platform than he had at the start of his career.

The running back started his college career at Division-II Newberry College. He was one of the best backs in school history, amassing 3,301 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns during four seasons there.

He made his way to the FBS level for the first time last year when he joined the South Carolina Gamecocks as their lead back.

The 23-year-old led the Gamecocks in rushing with 707 yards, but only scored three touchdowns in a below average offense.

South Carolina brought in a big name recruit in Raheim Sanders to take over the running game duties for 2024, which led Anderson to the Tigers for his final year of college ball.

Memphis had big shoes to fill at the position as Blake Watson, now a member of the Denver Broncos, had 1,632 yards with 17 touchdowns from scrimmage last season. He was a major factor in both the run and passing games.

Anderson had 22 catches for 153 yards and one touchdown for the Gamecocks, so he probably won't factor much into the Tigers' plans there.

He had a nice debut for Memphis, though, with 46 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns. It was a smaller school, North Alabama, but he'll get a chance to prove himself a worthy addition further when they take on the Troy Trojans in week two.

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Dylan Sanders
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

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