Michigan Announces New NIL Partnership with Passes

The defending College Football Playoff National Champions has announced a new NIL partnership to keep up with the ever-changing college football landscape.

Sep 28, 2019; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines linebacker Khaleke Hudson (7) and quarterback Shea Patterson (2) jump and touch the banner before the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-Imagn Images / Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

The 2024 college football season has not been nearly as kind to the Michigan Wolverines as the past three seasons have been. Among other things, the team graduated a ton of productive players and lost coaches to the NFL, but it's still Michigan, the cupboard should not be this bare. Leading up to the year, the school's lack of NIL opportunities was often the recipient of fan ire. Michigan has been taking steps to rectify the perceived deficit compared to the likes of Ohio State and Oregon in the Big Ten.

The school announced it has a partnership with Passes for NIL opportunities for the football team and 28 other varsity sports.

Passes is a direct-to-fan engagement and monetization platform. It allows student-athletes to sell exclusive content and merchandize to fans and it allows those fans to directly play a role in player retention.

Fans can specify what team(s) can receive their contributions. For example, for football, fans and donors can subscribe to "Team 146" and their funds will be directly funneled to the football team. This will allow Michigan to keep up with other programs when it comes to player retention, recruiting, and transfer portal acquisitions.

The CEO of Passes, Lucy Guo, released a statement and is excited for what the partnership will do for Michigan Athletics:

“The University of Michigan ranks highly among the world's great institutions of higher learning and enjoys a rich, tradition-laden history in college sports. Michigan fans like myself want to see our teams raise that National Championship trophy every year. Passes is especially proud to partner with the University of Michigan and have the opportunity to work with student-athletes and the Wolverine community in Ann Arbor and around the world.”

In addition to these NIL opportunities, Passes will also support Michigan with summer internships and is planning on recruiting UofM students to work for the company on a corporate level.

Michigan's Assistant AD for NIL, Danielle Davison, also released a statement:

"This partnership with Passes aligns with our university's commitment to innovation and student-athlete development. It gives all our teams a powerful platform to showcase Michigan Athletics and connect with our passionate fanbase while preparing our student-athletes for success in the evolving landscape of college sports."

The future of Michigan athletics - particularly football due to the potential impending sanctions and consequences from the three-year alleged cheating scandal - now has more support and a better foundation.

Time will tell how these NIL partnerships are affected by the House v NCAA ruling.