- Every scholarship athlete on the University of Utah football team will be given a pickup truck as part of a sweeping NIL deal between the team and For the Win 360 (FTW360).
- The deal is part of the NCAA’s new NIL (Name Image Likeness) rules that allow athletes to be compensated for outside brands using their name, image, or likeness (or otherwise profiting off the athlete’s fame).
- Each scholarship athlete will receive a 2024 Ram 1500 Big Horn pickup truck with the Night Edition package.
The NCAA’s new NIL rules are only a couple of years old, but the concept of college athletes getting gifted new cars is much, much older. All the way back in 1979, Eric Dickerson was considered one of the best football recruits in the country—and Texas A&M wanted him.
The story goes that after Dickerson turned down a suitcase filled with $50,000 of cash, A&M found out he wanted a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. So A&M procured one for him (painted gold, no less).
New Rules
But now that the NCAA allows its athletes to profit from their own name, image, and likeness, athletes are able to make over-the-table deals for new cars. The newest large-scale deal is coming to the University of Utah football team, where every scholarship athlete will receive a brand-new pickup truck.
As part of the launch of its new video app made for NIL NCAA collectives, FTW 360 (For the Win 360) will offer a 2024 Ram 1500 Big Horn pickup with the blacked-out Night Edition package to scholarship athletes playing football for the Utes. A fleet management company is responsible for leasing and managing the nearly 100 Rams FTW360 is offering the team. Donors are covering the lease and insurance costs of these trucks, with the caveat that each student must remain on scholarship and eligible to play.
Qualifying athletes only need to have a good driving record and be willing to promote awareness of the collective. According to FTW360, the athletes will be encouraged to give back to their communities, though that isn’t a necessity.
With a price of just over $50,000 in stubbier four-door Quad Cab form, these Rams represent a total donation amount of well over $5 million by FTW360. The athlete’s trucks won’t be covered in the Utah themed wrap shown above; but even with the Night Edition package’s five available colors available on the Big Horn trim, it’s sure to be a struggle for Utes players to find their Ram in the parking lot after practice. (“Uhhh, which of these 20 black Ram 1500 Big Horns is mine again?”)
Associate News Editor
Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.
Source: www.caranddriver.com