More NIL opportunities for UT athletes in the Players’ Lounge
The Players’ Lounge offers University of Tennessee athletes the opportunity to build their own image.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Athletes at the University of Tennessee have yet another NIL opportunity.
Name, Image and Likeness allowed NCAA athletes to be paid for appearances using their name, image, or likeness.
UT was one of the leading institutions of higher education when NIL was made legal by the NCAA.
Now, two former Vol football players, Thomas Edwards and Josh Dobbs, are teaming up with The Players’ Lounge to provide a new opportunity to UT athletes.
”If it was me back in the day, I think I’d be driving a different car right now,” said Edwards, a former Tennessee offensive lineman.
The Players’ Lounge is an opportunity for UT athletes to podcast with each other under the watchful eye of Dobbs and Edwards.
”In this day and age, that’s how businesses are marketing, you know, giving athletes now a leg up to understand that like, ‘Hey, one viral moment is not gone in the wind; it’s something you can capture and build a business and build a brand off of,’” said Edwards. ”What the Players’ Lounge was built on is creating content with athletes by former athletes and bridging that, connecting to what’s going on in these athletes’ lives.”
Tennessee is one of a handful of universities teaming up with The Players’ Lounge to develop this opportunity.
”This is not a ‘Here is 50 bucks; come stand outside and hold a sign up saying look over here, we’re signing autographs.’ They own their brand, they own the way they’re perceived and through the Players’ Lounge and media in general is how they grow their image and how they’re perceived,” said Edwards.
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