Seth Trimble Turns NIL Deal Into Ice Cream Brand Opportunity

The Tar Heels enter the 2025-2026 season with Trimble as a senior and someone who youdanger guys like freshmen Caleb Wilson, Derek Dixon, and Isaiah Denis can look up to learn the ropes about what basketball in Chapel Hill is all about.

• "It's super cool," said Trimble about his Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream shop on Franklin Street. "It's more than a blessing to be able to call myself a franchise owner, especially in the position I am. I'm just trying my best to set my own path, be my own person, and, you know, set an example for athletes to come. As you know, the NIL life just keeps expanding and keeps growing, and more opportunities keep coming just for players like me."

• "But it's just something I've always thought about," Trimble said. "I've always wanted to be more than a basketball player. And the idea of entrepreneurship has always been in my head. My parents have set, you know, a great way for me, and they've set a great path for me just to follow."

• "And I had the opportunity just a few months ago, it started, you know, to be in talks with Ben and Jerry's on Franklin Street. So the opportunity came about, sat down with my parents, and, you know, we were all super excited and invested in it. So we jumped on it."

NIL has changed the game for players at the college level, just look at Wilson's mult-million dollar shoe deal with New Balance — way before playing a single minute as a collegiate athlete.

Trimble’s Role Expands in His Last Orbit in Chapel Hill

Trimble's role has expanded each year, and more than ever, being the familiar face around the program and to the media, he looks to serve more ball-handling duties on the court (after clips online and hearing Arizona transfer big man Henri Veesaar speak about his passing skills). The high-flying dunker and the younger brother of former Tar Heel J.P. Tokoto, Trimble will not have a bigger role off the court as a franchisee owner, but on the parquet, too.

The Tar Heels look good when printing out its roster on paper, but the team needs to form on-court chemistry and it all begins on Monday, November 3 against Central Arkansas on opening night inside the Dean Dome.

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