Tennessee Baseball Team Inks NIL Deal Before College World Series

The Tennessee Volunteers are heading to Omaha with an NIL deal that will commemorate the trip.

June 9: Tennessee Volunteers designated hitter Dalton Bargo rounds the bases after hitting one of his two home runs against Evansville in Game 3 of their super regionals. Tennessee won 12-1 to advance to the College World Series. / Saul Young / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Tennessee Volunteers are the No. 1 seed in the College World Series and will face No. 8 seed Florida State in its opening game.

But, before the Vols headed for Omaha, they got some Name, Image and Likeness business done.

The Volunteer Club, Tennessee’s NIL collective, signed a deal with all of Tennessee’s baseball players that asks them to wear commemorative T-shirts for the CWS, T-shirts that will be on sale to Tennessee fans. The proceeds from those sales will go toward NIL efforts.

Per On3, each of the players was compensated for wearing the T-shirts.

The shirts advertise the collective, with “The Volunteer Club” written across the front, along with the No. 24 to commemorate this year’s trip to Omaha. The back features the word “Omaha.”

All geared up for travel day! @TheVolClub #GBO // #OTH pic.twitter.com/KwIPVY7YZe

— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) June 12, 2024

Brandon Spurlock, who runs the collective, told On3 that The Volunteer Club signed a four-figure deal with each baseball player leading up to last year’s CWS, but that was for promotion of the collective and autograph signings.

While in Omaha, the collective will sponsor an autograph signing on Saturday and jersey sales.

Tennessee is in the CWS for the second straight year, the third time in four years and for the seventh time in program history. The Vols have never won the title, and the closest they’ve gotten was back in 1951 when they were the runner-up.

The Vols went 55-12 this season, one that included winning the SEC Tournament in a championship game win over LSU, followed by a 3-0 record in their regional in Knoxville, followed by winning their Super Regional series over Evansville, a series that went three games.