Auburn Football Star Becomes First To Ink NIL Deal With Amazon

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics | By Simon Carroll | Last updated 8/4/22

It was only a matter of time. Amazon, the e-commerce giant, has finally taken the plunge into the college football NIL space. And the player who has made the groundbreaking deal will be a familiar face to Tigers fans…

Auburn quarterback TJ Finley has signed with Amazon Fashion, the clothing arm of the internet conglomerate. Finley has helped design a range of merchandise – 26 pieces in total – to be sold via the marketplace platform.

The first college football player to sign an NIL deal with Amazon:

Auburn QB TJ Finley pic.twitter.com/scviV8FLij

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) August 2, 2022

Finley was aided in the deal by Dreamfield, a company founded by former college QB’s McKenzie Milton (FSU) and D’Eriq King (Miami). Dreamfield aims to leverage NIL deals for a host of college football stars, helping them to navigate pitfalls and maximize revenue. Dreamfield counts players such as Michael Penix (Washington), Zach Carter (Florida) and Kennedy Brooks (Oklahoma) as their clients.

Tigers fans can buy one of Finley’s items from between $17 and $35, and the full range is available for shipping via Amazon Prime. The AU quarterback follows in the footsteps of Clemson basketball star Brendan Galloway, who signed with the company earlier this month. Amazon may have been slow to the NIL party, but they’re not waiting around any longer.

Football And NIL – The Future For Finley

After stepping in for the injured Bo Nix last year, TJ FInley has the inside track to start at QB for the Tigers in 2022. Auburn brought Texas A&M’s exciting gunslinger Zach Calzada in via the transfer portal this offseason. The two are still officially competing for the job, with former Oregon QB Robby Ashford also in the mix. Whilst most expect Calzada to eventually wrestle control away from Finley, the junior brings more experience in Bryan Harsin’s offense.

Finley is as dynamic off the field as he is on it. With a huge following on social media (16k on Twitter, 58k on Instagram), the quarterback has a ready-made market to exploit. Amazon quickly recognised his influence and signed him up – according to On3, Finley’s NIL valuation stands at $125k. That ranks him in the top 300 of all college football players. Not bad for a guy who – to date – has only seen the field in a backup capacity.

If anyone wishes to support Finley, you can find his clothing range here. As the season comes into focus on The Plains, Tigers fans will be hoping he has football, and not fashion, on his mind. Many of his items for sale has the slogan ‘Chosen 1’ emblazoned across it. Finley will be striving to make that slogan a reality as he works towards leading Auburn to a successful season.

Congratulations TJ! WDE!

This article first appeared on Gridiron Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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