Minnesota Golden Gophers Star Safety Signs NIL Deal With NurtriSource Pet Food

The Minnesota Golden Gophers star defensive back signed an NIL deal with a local pet food company to promote Children's Hospital program.

Oct 26, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Koi Perich (3) warms up before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Huntington Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

A Minnesota Golden Gophers football star signed a deal with a pet food brand that started out locally to promote a Children's Hospital program.

Freshman Gophers defensive back Koi Perich has reached an NIL deal with NutriSource Pet Food company per Dinkytown Athletes.

Perich's agreement will see him focus on promoting the companies "B.A.R.K. Buddies" program at M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital and Institute for the Developing Brain.

The program, which has been around since 2019, sends trained dogs to help the children at the hospital deal with the anxiety that can be a part of their treatment. For many kids, it can be the most calming part of the experience, making it something that is very important.

NutriSource CEO Charlie Nelson is a former Minnesota baseball player, so it makes sense that he is dipping back into his school's roster for NIL opportunities. It is a local company that has grown to nationwide brand, one of the top pet food companies in the United States.

Perich is a native of Esko, Minnesota and was the top player in the state out of the last recruiting class. He'd be the best player in this year's class and was the best in a while. This is a deal that makes a lot of sense for both sides.

"It's an honor for me to represent a company like NutriSource that loves Minnesota as much as I do," said the defensive back. "They are committed to our state, our communities and our kids. For me, there is not a better feeling than being able to spend some time at the hospital with these kids and their families to try and put a smile on their faces and make them forget about everything they're going through for a while."

The former four star recruit has had a stellar debut season and is already one of the Gophers' best players.

He has shined in coverage this season as he rarely gets targeted. When he does get targeted, the quarterback usually regrets it.

The playmaker leads the team with five interceptions. He still needs to grow as a tackler, but has made great strides as a freshman.

Minnesota finding more NIL sources will help out the team as they try to become more competitive recruiters. They finished last year just outside of the Top 30 thanks to Perich, but are currently sitting at No. 47 overall this year per 247Sports.