UPDATED: Oklahoma QB Nick Evers Sending NIL Money to Charity to 'Help Make a Difference in the World'
Oklahoma’s newest quarterback hasn’t taken a snap yet. In fact, he’s not even on campus.
But in the eyes of Sooner Nation, Nick Evers just took a major step toward folk hero status.
Evers, a quarterback in OU’s 2022 recruiting class, announced Wednesday on Twitter that he’s partnering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation as his first deal within the NCAA’s new Name, Image and Likeness rules.
“We really just want to help make a difference in the world,” Evers told SI Sooners. “And I think this is the first step that I can do.”
Starting last July 1, student-athletes can now make money off their name, image and likeness. That could include autographs, endorsements, branded apparel or just about anything that fans would pay money for.
In Evers’ case, he’ll attend or arrange events, such as autograph signings or meet-and-greets, and donate all proceeds to Make-A-Wish.
“I see all these kids are going through so much,” Evers said. “I mean, they have these life-threatening diseases. And, you know, to see them have a smile on their face — even though they're going through all this stuff — because of the things that I can provide for them, and all these other athletes can provide for them, I think is really amazing.
“I really just wanted to be a part of some of these kids’ lives and just help bring them joy, because that's just something I've always wanted to do.”
Evers, a 6-foot-3, 188-pound 4-star prospect from Flower Mound, TX, included links to Make-A-Wish foundations in Oklahoma and North Texas in his tweet through which patrons can donate. In addition to the usual NIL opportunities, Evers also encouraged fans to just make a simple donation.
“We’re obviously going to take take donations,” he said, “and honestly, all my proceeds that I get through Make-A-Wish, I'm really just using my name and anything that I can do, I'm really just giving to these kids to help make a difference in their lives.
“Like I said, in my statement, 100 percent of my proceeds are going to these kids, so I'm really just trying to help in any possible way that I can.”
Within three hours, Evers’ post had more than 4,000 likes, 700 retweets and 200 replies.
Evers can still negotiate other NIL opportunities apart from this deal if he wants, but whatever money comes in earmarked for Make-A-Wish will go directly back to the charity.
He said Make-A-Wish is an organization his parents became involved with in 2017, and he's enjoyed being around the kids ever since.
“I’ve always had like a passion of making these kids smile,” Evers said. “ … It’s always just had a place in my heart seeing these kids smile. So I just wanted to be a part of that and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity.”
