Ohio State safety Caleb Downs smiles during a game against Purdue. Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ohio State, Florida, Georgia athletes are well-fed in new NIL campaign

Originally posted on CFB-HQ on SI | By Michael Ehrlich | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 5:30 PM ET

Every student-athlete at three perennial powerhouses will be eating for free during their upcoming seasons through an expanded NIL campaign with Chipotle.

The popular Mexican restaurant chain kicked off this NIL program with Ohio State a year ago and has now expanded to Florida and Georgia to support nearly 2,000 athletes across the three campuses. Every scholarship and walk-on will receive a customized Chipotle card that grants them one free entree per week for 15 weeks.

To celebrate the latest iteration of their NIL initiative, Chipotle has launched two ads featuring Ohio State football trio Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles and Carnell Tate together plus a version with Florida quarterback DJ Lagway and former basketball star Walter Clayton Jr.

Downs, Styles and Tate highlight how they are locking in for a chance to repeat as National Champions, while Clayton Jr. - a National Champion on the hardwood - passes to torch to Lagway as the next great Gator star on the gridiron.

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A post shared by Caleb Downs (@calebdowns)

"We're excited to continue growing this collaboration with a brand that shares our commitment to empowering student athletes to be their authentic and best selves," said Logan Hittle, Ohio State's Associate Athletic Director, NIL & Strategic Initiatives.

In addition to the brand's support of athletes, the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation has created a four-year scholarship for an in-state student attending Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and is also providing over $100,000 in undergraduate research awards for students conducting research within the agricultural, farming and food programs at Florida's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

"Partnering with Chipotle is thrilling for us, and we appreciate the brand's commitment to include every student athlete," said Darren McPhail, General Manager of Florida Gators Sports Properties. "We're passionate about doing everything we can to set our athletes up for success, and we believe this collaboration with Chipotle helps us do just that."

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A post shared by LAG (@djlagway)

To bring this program to life, Chipotle collaborated with Ohio State Sports Properties, Florida Gators Sports Properties and Georgia Bulldogs Sports Marketing and Learfield.

This article first appeared on CFB-HQ on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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