In 2020, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) reluctantly agreed to allow name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals with college athletes enrolled at universities in the United States. This is a heavily debated topic that has swept the US over the course of the last twenty years. Many people argue that college students are already getting to attend college for free and receive heavy scholarships.
However, many others point to the profitability that universities in the US have when it comes to athletics, with some universities profiting heavily from college sports. In fact, in 2023, several colleges recorded over $175 million in revenue from athletics alone, per Business Insider. These colleges include:
- The University of Michigan
- The University of Alabama
- The University of Georgia
- The University of Texas
- Ohio State University
Photo : Mike Fuchslocher | Shutterstock
Because of this, in 2019, the state of California passed NIL-focused legislation that prohibited the NCAA from punishing student-athletes who earned compensation from NIL deals. Several other states followed shortly after, including Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, and New Jersey. This led to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) passing regulations for student-athletes earning compensation in 2020. Eventually, the NCAA gave in and issued NIL guidance to all colleges, which officially led to the legalization of NIL deals in college athletics.
This heavily regulated offering allowed college athletes across the US to be paid compensation by companies using their name, image, or likeness. This means that companies can use the athlete’s name or image for promotion or marketing campaigns. This is typically done through advertisement deals, autograph signings, or even something as simple as a post on social media. However, some unique deals offer athletes special perks on top of compensation. One special type of deal recently came to light over the past several weeks.
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A private jet membership company, Nicholas Air, inked a deal with two major collegiate superstars that provides each of them with access to private jets from the Nicholas Air fleet. Let’s take a closer look at what the deal offered to these two NCAA superstars was. Let’s also take a look at Nicholas Air and what the company expects to gain from signing these two athletes to NIL deals.
Ole Miss quarterback NIL deal
In late February, Nicholas Air announced it had signed University of Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart to an exclusive NIL deal. Dart is the projected starter of the Ole Miss Rebels this upcoming season and one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, the most prestigious award in college football. Nicholas Air stated that they believe Dart is a good fit for their campaign due to his continuous efforts to give back to the community. The usage of the Nicholas Air jets is based on the distance and type of jet required, and the jets are to be used for personal travel, training, or philanthropy.
Photo: Photosbypatrik | Shutterstock
Dart is coming off a successful 2023 campaign with the Rebels, in which he led the team to an 11-2 record after starting all thirteen games. Dart compiled the following statistics in 2023:
- 223–358 passes (65.1% completion pct.)
- 3,364 passing yards
- 23 passing touchdowns
- Five interceptions
- Eight rushing touchdowns
The Ole Miss senior stated,
“Partnering with Nicholas Air in and of itself is exciting, and being able to do it in tandem for events like Stuff-the-Plane is extremely gratifying.”
This was the first of its kind NIL deal with a college athlete. The signing is a one-year deal but also includes verbiage that would allow it to extend into Dart’s potential National Football League (NFL) playing career.
Texas quarterback NIL deal
On Thursday, April 11, Quinn Ewers announced via his social media that he had signed a new NIL deal with Nicholas Air, becoming the second quarterback to sign with the company. Ewers is the projected starting quarterback for the University of Texas Longhorns, one of the most popular teams in college athletics, this upcoming season. This deal allows Ewers, along with his close friends and family, access to one of the aircraft in the Nicholas Air fleet for his personal use. The endorsement deal specifically allows Ewers a certain number of hours on the company’s fleet to use the jets for travel, training, or philanthropy.
Photo: Santi Rodriguez | Shutterstock
Ewers is coming off a successful 2023 campaign, in which he started all twelve games and led the Texas Longhorns to a 10-2 record. Ewers also compiled the following statistics:
- 272-394 passes (69% completion pct.)
- 3,479 passing yards
- 22 passing touchdowns
- Six interceptions
- Five rushing touchdowns
Ewers helped the Texas Longhorns to a Big 12 Championship, in which he set the record for most passing yards in a single conference championship game. He has also found great success in the NIL world, as he became the first college athlete to sign an NIL deal worth over $1 million.
About Nicholas Air
The aviation company was originally founded in 1997 but now incorporates several different aspects of private aviation. This includes aircraft management and fractional ownership, and it also offers a jet card program, per Private Jet Card Comparisons. The company was founded in Oxford, Mississippi, which is where Ole Miss is located, which makes sense why the company agreed to complete an NIL deal with Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart.
The company currently operates a large fleet of several different classes of business jets. Nicholas Air flies Pilatus PC-12s, Embraer Phenom 100s, Phenom 300s, Cessna Citation CJ3+s, Citation Latitudes, Bombardier Challenger 350s, and Gulfstream G600s.
