Spyre Sports Announces Edition of Zakai Zeigler to NIL Event Series

5'9", 167lbs freshman point guard Zakai Zeigler has already become a fan favorite in Knoxville with his fearless play. Now, the fan favorite is joining several other Tennessee student-athletes as a member of Spyre Sports NIL Event Series.

The group announced Zeigler's addition earlier today on social media.

We're excited to announce that we have signed Zakai Zeigler to our NIL Event Series! 🏀🎉 Thank you Vol Nation and the 1951 Club Members. YOU make this possible!

#feelgoodfriday #volhoops #NIL
— Spyre Sports Group (@spyresports) February 11, 2022

Spyre Sports is leading the NIL charge for Tennessee student-athletes, as they continue to make positive moves that will not only benefit the current athletes on campus but making the athletic department overall more appealing to prospective student-athletes.

"We want Tennessee to be the premier NIL destination in the country," Spyre Co-Founder Hunter Baddour told Volunteer Country in a January interview. "I understand if that sounds like coach speak, but if we are not shooting to be number one, then what are we doing? We would like Tennessee to be year-after-year in the top three in recruiting in football. Why the top three? Because depending on what website or ranking service you use, nobody is ever number one in all three. So if you are in the top three, I think it is fair to say you are a consensus number one. We also want to take care of all sports at Tennessee, and that includes Women's sports. There is definitely an opportunity for everybody to get in on and experience NIL in a positive way."

The tweet above from Spyre also mentioned the 1951 Club which is an initiative the group launched that allows fans to take an active role in the NIL game.

"We had a lot of people, through social media, in particular, engaging us about how they could get involved, whether it be a donation to the NIL war chest or provide in-kind opportunities," Baddour said of this. "A car dealership getting involved is a great example or restaurants wanting to provide a free place where student-athletes can eat for free. There was so much interest in being involved from the fan standpoint, we thought we needed to create some membership society, and we chose the 1951 Club to let fans be a part of this movement and pay homage to the past. Arguably the greatest football season in the history of Tennessee, right up there with 1938 and 1998, the 1951 Club is essentially a donor tier system named after famous Tennessee coaches, in the past, Majors, Pat Summit, General Neyland, for example. Depending on the donation, there are things that members will get, whether it's newsletters, signed memorabilia, access to information before it goes public, or access to meet and engage with current student-athletes in multiple sports. It just depends on the commitment level and involvement."

Zeigler joins a long list of Tennessee athletes current in the NIL event series which will feature multiple stops across the state and feature the opportunity for fans to interact with some of their favorite players, including Hendon Hooker, Cedric Tillman, Byron Young and numerous others. To check out the full list, head over to Spyre's social media pages.