Penn State, LaVar Arrington Join Forces on New Digital Content Service

Penn State is launching a kind of in-house streaming sports service in partnership with LaVar Arrington that the athletic department calls "groundbreaking." The site, known as ROAR+, will launch in July and deliver Penn State sports content to fans. Membership levels start at $15 a month, with a $250 monthly subscription offering perks such as chats with Penn State players and coaches and invitations to Arrington's "ST1X C1ty" tailgates during home football games.

“ROAR+ is about creating a deeper connection between our fans and student-athletes while providing meaningful NIL opportunities,” Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft said in a statement. "This is a bold step forward in delivering innovative experiences to our supporters and empowering our student-athletes to tell their stories like never before.”

ROAR+ is part of Penn State's rebranded NIL initiative called ROAR Solutions. Penn State consolidated several fundraising and donor platforms under this new umbrella, which includes its official collective Happy Valley United. The platform also features DisruptU-PSU, Arrington's content creation company, and The Brand Academy, Penn State's NIL marketing and strategy arm run by former Nittany Lions football player Omar Easy.

ROAR+ will serve as a content subscription service for Penn State sports fans. According to a news release, the site will provide exclusive content featuring Nittany Lions athletes, including interviews, player-driven podcasts and game archives.

Arrington, the former Penn State linebacker recently inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, will host a "lifestyle driven" show on the service as well as weekly show with Penn State football coach James Franklin called "Quite Franklin." In addition, Penn State broadcaster Brian Tripp will host a daily show highlighting Penn State athletes and news.

Playfly Max, the NIL marketing division of sports media company Playfly Sports, will operate the ROAR+ site. Playfly Sports holds Penn State's multimedia rights. Playfly Max is part of the ROAR Solutions platform and helps Penn State athletes sign NIL deals with local and national businesses. According to the ROAR+ website, all proceeds from the subscription service will benefit Penn State athletes.

“As part of the Roar Solutions portfolio, we’re constantly innovating to enhance the student-athlete experience in this evolving era of college athletics,” Morgyn Seigfried, Playfly Max's general manager of NIL, said in a statement. "ROAR+ will forge a direct connection with our most passionate supporters, providing student-athletes a bold and authentic platform to share their stories, their way.”

Penn State fans can register now for the service and won't be billed until July 24. Subscription levels are $15, $25, $100 and $250 monthly and include a range of benefits. The top level includes invitations to online and in-person events as well as Arrington's tailgates.

Kraft recently discussed how Penn State is approaching the new era of NIL. Beginning July 1, the athletic department will participate in revenue sharing, which will allow Penn State to pay its athletes a total of $20.5 million annually from the athletics budget. Penn State athletes can earn additional money through NIL initiatives, which Kraft called marketing opportunities.

"So how about we change the narrative of NIL," Kraft said. "It's marketing now, it's marketing dollars. ...
I think what people think of the traditional NIL piece is we're where we need to be. You have to keep looking and you’ve got to continue to do what you got to do.

'But in this new system, you're going to have to show fair market value. And this is where the power of Penn State is a huge asset, because fair market value for the starting quarterback at Penn State, it’s pretty good. We’ve got to lean into that and with our business partners. And so that's kind of the new world of Name, Image and Likeness."

Arrington has discussed bringing NIL opportunities to