Mississippi State football players are making their own foray into the name, image and likeness space.
What dozens of Bulldogs teased Tuesday on social media launched Wednesday afternoon: the new Starkville NIL Club, a player-led fan community aimed at generating money to be distributed evenly across MSU’s roster.
More than 95 players are participating in the club, according to a joint statement tweeted out by countless MSU players slightly before 2 p.m. Tuesday. Fans must give $5 or more per month for a subscription to the club.
Those who subscribe are slated to receive exclusive chat rooms; message boards; player-recorded content on past games, upcoming matchups, practice updates, film breakdowns and more; and opportunities for digital meet-and-greets, Q&As and interviews with players.
The club’s website, starkvillenil.com, has set a monthly goal of $50,000. As of 2:15 p.m., it had raised $210 from 12 donors.
According to the site, the Bulldogs’ players have teamed up with the YOKE membership platform, which has launched several similar clubs for other schools in recent months. The list includes Texas, Michigan State, Auburn, Arkansas, Kansas State and Minnesota, as well as Ole Miss; the Oxford NIL Club launched in July.
NIL became legal on July 1, 2021, allowing college athletes to profit from the use of their own name, image and likeness.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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