Nebraska NIL Collective Starts Beef With Jerky Offering
Nebraska is known for its beef. But a new offering by a Nebraska Cornhuskers athletics collective is, well, creating a beef with another Nebraska athletics collective.
The 1890 Initiative supports Nebraska student-athletes through NIL initiatives. Like most NIL collectives, they use products and sponsorships to help drive revenue for players. That is nothing new. The 1890 Collective was formed in 2022 and has its own shop with 1890-branded gear and other products.
Recently, the collective introduced a partnership that would sell Cornhead Beef Jerky through its online shop. Food is usually a popular fundraiser for collectives. Like many collectives, The 1890 Initiative announced the new product on social media.
So far, so good, right? Sell some beef jerky, support some Nebraska athletes.
Well, here’s the thing. By selling beef jerky, the 1890 Collective is now in direct competition with another Nebraska athletics collective.
That would be Pipeline Jerky. Pipeline is a collective that bills itself as “NIL for the Common Man.” Sales of this jerky specifically support Nebraska’s offensive line, which in Lincoln is called “The Pipeline.”
Get it? Branding is everything. Pipeline bills the jerky as “… made from quality Nebraska livestock, raised by Nebraska farmers, produced and packaged by Nebraska hands.”
Competing with a jerky that supports a Big Ten rival’s NIL funding would be one thing. But two NIL collectives that support the same school and sell the same product? That’s, at the least, redundant.
Meanwhile, the Nebraska football team is seeking to get back to a bowl game, at the least as head coach Matt Rhule begins his second season as head coach in 2024.
