FUBU Brokers Epic NIL Deal With 8 HBCU, D1 Student-Athletes
Daymond John's legendary streetwear brand FUBU will relaunch and has entered into a multi-year NIL deals with eight student-athletes from minority-owned NIL agency, Booked and Busy Talent.
The new campaign will feature gymnasts Sekai Wright and Chae Campbell, Hannah Joyner, Gabi Stephens, Derrian Gobourne, and Ananda Brown. Also, Jackson State stars Malachi Wideman (football) and Keshaun Jackson (baseball).
Booked and Busy Talent co-founder Edward James told me, "you're going to see a digital campaign launched on their website and in the respective stores where their products are being sold. Some of the faces from Booked and Busy talent will be 'rocking FUBU.' So you might just go to Forever 21 one day and may see Derrian Gobourne, Malachi Wideman, or a Sekai Wright."
Booked and Busy Talent
"Currently, these are good-faith deals, and the agreements will not "sunset" for the student-athletes," James mentioned. "Our eight athletes will be in a marketing video talking about their outreach to the Gen Z population to be posted on the FUBU Instagram page."
FUBU & BOOKED AND BUSY TALENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Legendary streetwear brand, FUBU, has partnered with the minority-owned NIL agency Booked and Busy Talent to launch a campaign with eight elite Black Division 1 athletes across five major conferences, including SEC, PAC-12, Big 10, Big East, and the SWAC, for a unique collaboration and groundbreaking NIL Deal.
Booked and Busy Talent founders and Managing Partners Ed James and Melinda Wideman facilitated this opportunity with FUBU to raise the visibility of both these student-athletes, many of whom are Black female gymnasts, and shine a spotlight on FUBU, one of the few streetwear brands from the late '90s and early 2000s to remain Black-owned.
Fubu's recent relaunch is a part of a broader campaign to deftly bring the brand's culturally influential apparel back into the hearts and minds of the consumers who helped elevate the company into the unprecedented stratosphere where at one point, they were totaling $350 million in sales annually. They are also making a run at Generation Z with their collaborations with Forever 21 and now this campaign with big-time names in college sports like Jackson State University's Two-Sport Phenom- Malachi Wideman, UCLA Gymnasts- Sekai Wright and Chae Campbell, Rutgers Gymnast- Hannah Joyner, Michigan State Gymnast- Gabi Stephens, Auburn Gymnasts- Derrian Gobourne and Ananda Brown, and Jackson State Baseball Pitcher- Keshaun Jackson. Ed James, a Managing Partner of Booked and Busy Talent, stated that "this deal signifies a watershed moment in the evolution of the NIL ecosystem where the monetization of our cultural capital can finally be used by us and not against us."
While the total monetary value of this deal has not yet been disclosed, it is estimated that this brand partnership might be one of the more robust streetwear deals that we've seen thus far in the new world of NIL and college athletes. A representative from FUBU stated, "we are excited to team up with these talented young student-athletes to recognize them as cultural influencers and future titans of industry.
Our brand, which was founded in Hollis Queens by our CEO Daymond John in his apartment, blossomed into a $6 billion Black-owned empire with hard work, laser focus, and dedication. We want these young people to know that as they build their brand, there is no reason that they can't create something even more significant than what we started in 1992. All we need to do is continue to love, push, create, and most importantly, mentor our next generation