Utah's Crimson Collective Surprises Athletes with Expanded NIL Deal: Luxury Cars for Basketball and Gymnastics Teams
Wednesday, Dec. 13, Christmas came early for a slew of Utah athletes who received a surprise gift through a new NIL deal set forth by the Crimson Collective.
Wednesday afternoon, members of the University of Utah men’s and women’s basketball teams, along with athletes from the school’s gymnastics team, were surprised with the opportunity to lease either a 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Edition or a 2024 Ram 1500 Big Horn truck.
The deal expands on the Crimson Collective’s (Utah’s officially recognized NIL collective) prior NIL deal that gave scholarship athletes from the Utes’ football team an opportunity to lease their own Ram truck.
The expanded arrangement includes the choice of either: the same truck that was offered to football scholarship athletes ($61,000 MSRP), or a new choice in the 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
As described in the agreement, both the lease and insurance costs of the vehicle will be covered by donors of the Crimson Collective so long as each athlete remains a part of their respective Utah athletics program.
The deal comes at the perfect time after the Runnin’ Utes highly publicized victory over No. 14 ranked BYU. Additionally, the new deal is expanded to Utah’s two most popular female sports and is one of the largest NIL deals for women’s sports in the history of name, image, and likeness sponsorships.
“As a former University of Utah gymnast, it's incredibly meaningful for me to support our female student-athletes, as well as our talented young men,” said Nicole Mouskondis, Co-CEO of Nicholas and Co. and board member of Crimson Collective. “When we began with the Crimson Collective, we envisioned an equitable platform that supports and connects all student-athletes, and particularly our women's teams. This initiative is not just about providing transportation; it's about showing all our student-athletes that their achievements and contributions to the community are equally celebrated, on and off the field.”
Moreover, according to Josh Furlong on X.com, the new deal for basketball and gymnastics athletes applies to all athletes on each respective team, “not just players on scholarship”.
Utah’s new and expanded NIL deal is historic in terms of the wider landscape of NIL.
After the school’s original deal with the football team brought forth debates about the fairness of NIL for female athletes, the school’s new deal shows that NIL can benefit both male and female athletes and more than the most popular five percent of college athletes overall.
