LSU Football made history Friday, becoming the first college football team to achieve near unanimous team participation in the recently announced Fanatics and OneTeam Partners co-branded player jersey program.
The customizable Nike jerseys, which will feature the name and number of every football student-athlete who opts into the program, will be available for purchase prior to the 2022 season, and players will be compensated for each of their jersey sales.
The co-branded player jersey program went live Thursday to dozens of schools, and LSU reached near-unanimous opt-in within 24 hours of launch. More information about how fans can purchase the jerseys of their favorite current LSU football players will be made available later this year.
“This is a historic day in college athletics, and we’re proud and pleased to bring the storied tradition of LSU Football to the forefront of the sport through co-branded, licensed football jerseys,” said Director of Athletics Scott Woodward. “For the first time ever, fans will be able to purchase authentic jerseys of their favorite LSU Tigers, and student-athletes will directly benefit from every sale. We cannot wait to see our jerseys on the sidelines and in the stands inside Tiger Stadium next season, and we eagerly anticipate additional player co-branded products for our student-athletes across all sports.”
Fanatics, the global leader in licensed sports merchandise, is the official e-commerce partner of the Tigers and operates the LSU SportShop at Tiger Stadium. The company will utilize its comprehensive on-demand jersey customization platform to power this program and apply the same robust jersey manufacturing and distribution capabilities that have made it the leader in the space across all professional sports.
Representing group rights across professional football, basketball, baseball, soccer, rugby, and all college sports, OneTeam specializes in group licensing, marketing, media, and investing and works to maximize the value of NIL across digital games, trading cards, apparel, merchandise, and more. On Thursday, Fanatics and OneTeam announced a historic partnership to provide current college football players the opportunity to be compensated for inclusion in a broad-scale, multi-school jersey customization program
“What a moment for LSU! In less than 24 hours, the Tigers became the first football team to fully opt-in to the Fanatics player jersey program. OneTeam couldn’t be more excited for LSU athletes. We look forward to making this a reality for so many more athletes across the country,” said Malaika Underwood, SVP of Licensing at OneTeam Partners. “There is no question that LSU athletes understand their collective value, and they were ready to take advantage of the opportunity. There have been a lot of headlines in the last seven months, but this one is worth noting.”
(Release via LSU Athletics)
