Last night, @caleb2love led UNC to the National Championship Game in vault 🔥 from Jordan Brand.
In the first year of NIL, Love and other collegiate sneakerheads have been rocking 👟 rotations only the pros could compete with.
A thread: 🧵👇
1) With NIL, Love and Duke’s @Pp_doesit are able to cash in on paid posts from Outback, JDSports, Bojangles + more.
These extra earnings help both hoopers stay fresh on and off the court.
🎥: @JDSports
2) 20 years ago, it was a different world.
In the early ‘00s, @MrDanielEwing rocked retro Jordans & Air Pennys for nationally televised games.
“There wasn’t the SNKRS app. You could go to the mall and you might find some gems. If you had the bread ... you’d grab a pair or two.”
3) By the ‘10s, college kids took the 👟 game to new levels, including @ja4hunnid getting buckets in Virgil Abloh-designed kicks.
“Once they came out with the Off-White basketball shoes, I saved them for when we played at Madison Square Garden.”
4) In the late ‘10s, @TyJerome took Virginia to new heights, leading a National Championship run in Protro pairs from The Black Mamba that alluded him in his youth.
“What appealed to you as a kid that you couldn’t have? You’re going to gravitate to it.”
5) This proves true in the first year of NIL as Arizona’s @DalenTerry is crushing it when it comes to paid partnerships and fire footwear.
“All my teammates are like, ‘You’re gonna be like PJ Tucker!’ And I go, ‘Nah, I’m gonna be better. I just started earlier than him.'”
6) This year, @DalenTerry got 💰 by being a sneaker star on and off the court.
“Dalen was able to leverage his social media following with a post endorsing Reebok kicks sponsored by @champssports, even though his team is sponsored by Nike,” shared @J_Aiken2.
(🎥: IG/dalenn)
7) He’s not alone as #BBN talent @ShaedonSharpe signed an NIL deal with @SoleSavy earlier this season.
boardroom.tv/kentucky-shaed…
8) So, how is NIL changing NCAA footwear?
Learn where it’s going — and how we got there — in a deep-dive feature from our @ianstonebrook ⤵
boardroom.tv/evolution-stud…
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