LSU Announces New Collective for NIL Deals
Depending on your source, NIL, (Name, Image, Likeness) has either been great for college athletics, or is the method of its destruction. If you're not familiar with NIL, it now allows college athletes to be able to profit off of their Name, Image, or Likeness.
Where college athletics used to be very strict about athletes not being paid, either by sponsors, schools, or booster clubs, now athletes are signing huge, profitable deals with sponsors.
LSU just announced a collective launched on Friday. Bayou Traditions will be the official collective of LSU Athletics to empower Name, Image and Likeness opportunities with student athletes.
What is a "Collective?"
According to Business of College Athletics:
A collective is an organization formed to benefit student athletes, usually at a specific institution. The models vary somewhat, but the basic premise of most is that an alum, or group of alums, band together to form a company whose goal is to provide NIL opportunities to student athletes of that institution. How they find or provide those opportunities is where the models really differ.
In this new world of college athletics, collectives will soon be just another part of the recruiting process and college experience, like scholarships, financial assistance, and course advisors.
“Bayou Traditions is a new way LSU fans can support the success of our championship athletics programs and our elite student-athletes in the NIL era,” Director of Athletics Scott Woodward said in a statement. LSU Reveille
According to the statement from LSU Athletics, Bayou Traditions will allow fans and boosters to be able to contribute NIL efforts for student athletes at LSU in different ways, including one-time or monthly contributions.
“LSU’s fanbase is unrivaled in passion and pride, and we are excited to partner with Bayou Traditions to help them channel that support into NIL success for student-athletes,” said Garrett Altier, Director of Sales for LSU Sports Properties in a statement. “Through this one-of-a-kind partnership and by leveraging the power of the LSU GOLD platform, we can combine the reach of the LSU brand with the resources developed by Bayou Traditions to truly elevate the brands of our student-athletes.”