Florida State and The Brandr Group Launch Group Licensing for Student-Athletes
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State Athletics (FSU) and The Brandr Group (TBG) have established an agreement for student-athletes competing across all the school’s varsity teams that will enable FSU student-athletes to profit from their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) using the school’s official trademarks and logos. The partnership gives Brandr the ability to use FSU Athletics marks as part of a group licensing program they are offering to all FSU student-athletes.
“We’re pleased and excited to enter into this partnership with Brandr,” said Michael Alford, FSU Vice President and Director of Athletics. “This agreement is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that we are helping our student-athletes have access to the types of services necessary for maximizing their value as they pursue NIL opportunities that allow them to both earn money and garner practical work experience.”
TBG, a brand management, marketing, and licensing agency, will manage and administer the program while creating licensing opportunities on behalf of the student-athletes. Additionally, it will support the collective use of student-athletes' NIL in licensing and marketing programs, facilitating opportunities on behalf of the student-athletes, while not limiting individual NIL rights. All student-athlete participation is voluntary.
With decades of collective management experience for some of the world's largest brands, TBG has managed group rights programs in the college space and for the NFL, NBA, and MLB players’ associations.
The comprehensive partnership positions Florida State as a leader in the NIL space, fashioning a complete approach to engaging with premier brands, maximizing athlete revenue, and driving engagement between student-athletes and fans. For instance, one of the first activations as part of this partnership is with ONIT, an innovative, new entrant into the trading cards and sports memorabilia space that creates high-end trading cards tailored to the NIL marketplace. ONIT and Brandr have partnered with Florida State softball student-athletes to release a set of trading cards featuring every member of the team.
TBG also has collaborated with Florida State athletes on several earlier TBG national program activations, including ones with national brands like Taco Bell and Dodge Ram, with more campaigns planned for the coming months in various industries like sports memorabilia and e-commerce programs.
“We’re thrilled to be able to partner with Florida State, knowing their robust embrace of group rights licensing puts them at the forefront of what is an ever-changing marketplace and allows them to drive opportunities that can yield maximum benefit for their student-athletes,” said Wesley Haynes, CEO of TBG. “One of the most intriguing aspects about this partnership is the endorsement made by the broader Florida State community, from the school’s leadership to its donors and alumni. That type of buy-in is crucial to success, and we’re excited to create innovative campaigns, programs and experiences that drive value for all involved, most importantly Seminole student-athletes.”
Products combining team logos with player names and numbers have accounted for a significant portion of licensed merchandise sales in professional sports for decades, and this program provides the same opportunities for collegiate student-athletes.
Fans can expect to be able to purchase official Florida State merchandise, including team jerseys with the name and number of Seminoles players who have joined the respective group licensing program, once TBG enters into agreements with applicable school trademark licensees.
About The Brandr Group
The Brandr Group (TBG) is a brand management, marketing and licensing agency powered by a team with decades of collective management experience for some of the world’s largest brands. TBG has emerged as the leading agency in group licensing programs, with rights to over 90 college athletic programs and their student athletes in the Name, Image and Likeness category including the biggest brands in college athletics. TBG partners with prominent brands, colleges, sponsors, corporate trademarks, athletes and events to cultivate, diversify and monetize intellectual property through professional brand management and licensing endeavors. For more information, please visit tbgusa.com.
