UCLA NIL: Four Bruins That Know How to Leverage Name, Image, and Likeness

Breaking down some current UCLA student-athlete NIL deals

In June 2021, the NCAA granted the right of publicity to their student-athletes to leverage their name, image, and likeness (NIL) to earn money. Two years have passed since then, and we've seen NCAA athletes strike deals with all sorts of companies. Some notable ones include a former Nebraska wide receiver, Decoldest Crawford, who struck a deal with a heating and cooling company, and an Alabama cornerback, Kool-Aid McKinstry who struck a deal with the beverage brand Kool-Aid. 

So, how have some Bruins been leveraging this relatively new opportunity? AllBruins.com takes a deep dive into how your Bruins have been leveraging their name, image, and likeness during their collegiate athletic careers. 

Jordan Chiles - UCLA Women's Artistic Gymnast

Urban Outfitters, Reebok, and Cashapp are a few of the NIL deals that the Olympic silver medalist has inked during her time at UCLA. She is, according to On3, the second most valuable gymnast in terms of NIL, right behind LSU's Livvy Dunne. 

Laiatu Latu - UCLA Football Defensive End

Lauiatu Latu is a senior defensive lineman out of Sacramento, California. He is regarded by many NFL draft scouts as one of the top players at his position who is expected to declare for the 2024 NFL draft. He recently inked a deal with SAXX underwear, a men's clothing company. Saxx partnered with several talented defensive ends for this campaign, including Michigan's Braiden McGregor, USC's Shane Lee, and Miami's Jahfari Harvey. 

J.Michael Sturdivant - UCLA Wide Receiver

J.Michael Sturdivant was involved in NIL during his time at Cal prior to transferring to UCLA. He has his own merch available on the NIL pro shop. The sophomore pass catcher is also the team leader in receiving yards so far this season, and many scouts see him as an underrated talent poised to make a big jump up draft boards should he decide to declare for the 2024 NFL draft. 

Chase Griffin - UCLA Football Quarterback

Chase Griffin is no stranger to NIL deals either. Despite his backup role at UCLA last season, and current backup role to Freshman Dante Moore, Griffen is squeezing every drop of juice he can out of the NIL marketplace. Last year Griffen inked deals with Degree Deodorant, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Shell, Boost Mobile, and Clearcover Car Insurance. He also just announced his deal with Postmates - A student discount promo code - on his Instagram. 

In an interview with FanNation's Pat Benson, current UCLA athletic Martin Jarmond spoke on UCLA's efforts to be competitive in the early days of NIL with their Westwood Ascent organization. 

"Westwood Ascent focuses on three important pillars of NIL - Education, Brand-Building and Monitoring and Disclosure. We’ve also launched Westwood Exchange, a free business registry designed for companies, donors, fans and alumni that want to connect directly with UCLA student-athletes interested in capitalizing on their NIL. In addition, we’ve grown our partnerships with the UCLA School of Law Ziffren Institute to provide a pro bono clinic and partnered with the UCLA Anderson School of Management and the Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports on a series of workshops for student-athletes highlighting areas of NIL importance, including personal finance, brand-building, business law, contracts, and ethics."

In addition to Westwood Ascent, UCLA also launched Men of Westwood, a NIL collective that focuses specifically on the men's basketball and football teams. Currently included in that collective are 66 football players, including highly-recruited freshman quarterback Dante Moore, and 12 basketball players. 

Supporters of the Bruins can pay the Men of Westwood collective $10,000 per person to play a round of golf with Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts, amongst other experiences for sale on their website.

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