Lions Legacy Club, Penn State's Football Collective, Lands Major Deal
Lions Legacy Club, the Penn State NIL collective dedicated to football, has signed a two-year, seven-figure partnership with two companies that represents the program's largest NIL sponsorship.
The collective announced the deal with West Shore Home, a Pennsylvania-based home remodeling company, and MITER Brands, a window and door company. Lions Legacy Club called it a "landmark corporate and philanthropic partnership" that will make West Shore Home and MITER the collective's presenting sponsors.
Lions Legacy Club said the sponsorship will provide football players with marketing and branding agreements, community engagement opportunities and player-focused experiences. The announcement came two days after Penn State coach James Franklin said that his program has "a ton of work to do" regarding its NIL initiatives.
Penn State alumni B.J. Werzyn (West Shore Home) and Matt DeSoto (MITER Brands) are CEOs of the respective companies. Last year, West Shore Home signed running back Nicholas Singleton to a three-year NIL deal.
"We are so appreciative of Matt and B.J. for their support of our student-athletes and their NIL endeavors," Penn State Athletic Director Pat Kraft said in a statement. "Penn State has such a strong alumni base and great leaders in their fields, and I love their willingness to impact our current student-athletes and propel our programs forward."
In an interview last year, Werzyn said he wanted to act as a "catalyst" for Penn State's NIL efforts. The deal with Singleton represented an entry point to that pursuit.
"This is the shift of where college football is going," Werzyn said. "Being an alum, being a Penn State football fan, I wanted to be able to support the football program. It’s not a big secret that the football program is what generates the revenue that drives all the athletic programs at Penn State. So keeping Penn State competitive, keeping them relevant, was important to me."
MITER Brands has sponsored Penn State athletics since 2017. In a news release, Lions Legacy Club said the deal represents "the next evolution of both companies' commitment to elevating the Penn State football program and its talented student-athletes."
"The best relationships, in business and in life, are built on mutually beneficial outcomes," DeSoto said in a statement. "Lions Legacy Club has created an NIL program that helps support the long-term success of Penn State football and its student-athletes while providing unique business value for sponsors."
The partnership includes a philanthropic element in which football players can participate in local and national charitable events through Lions Legacy Club's 501c3 arm.
Lions Legacy Club was founded in 2022 as a collective focused solely on football. Michael Mauti, a former All-America linebacker at Penn State, is one of its founders.
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