Penn State Transfer Fleming Wastes No Time in Adding College Park NIL Deals
Back in my day, college athletes used to only have four years of collegiate eligibility. However, in the post-covid world, players have become well versed in stretching their time on campus. At Miami, tight end, Cam McCormick was just granted permission from the NCAA to suit up for his ninth season. While athletes are staying longer, it remains true that time as a collegiate athlete is finite; in the era of NIL, this leaves athletes with no time to waste.
Julian Fleming embodies this sense of immediacy better than anyone. During his four-year career at Ohio State the wideout proved to be an important contributor, but fell short of expectations that came with being the number one positional prospect in his grad class. Overlapping in wide receiver rooms with players like Marvin Harrison Jr., Garret Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxson Smith-Njigba, and Emeka Egbuka; no matter how talented of a prospect, it is a challenge for any receiver to shine.
Looking for a new place to play during his fifth year of eligibility, the former number four overall high-school recruit in the nation entered the transfer portal on December 4, 2023. On January 3, 2024, he was officially a Nittany Lion. In less than two weeks after his commitment, Fleming had already stared in his first commercial in the Central Pennsylvania market.
Penn State was a natural fit for Fleming, growing up roughly 90 miles away in Catawissa, PA. Playing prep ball before the establishment of NIL, Fleming is now able to monetize the local fame he accrued during his remarkable high school career. Just two weeks after returning home, he looks to flood the airways in his local market. His first televised NIL deal as a PSU football player came for Blaise Alexander, a large player in the Central Pennsylvania car market, with over twenty dealerships in the region. Blaise Alexander Family Dealership is a long time sponsor of Penn State Athletics and for the general student population has a scholarship fund in the same name.
Fleming will serve as an interesting NIL case study. It is rare to find players at the Power 4 level without substantial high school hype. When Fleming made his decision to attend OSU, NIL was not a factor. Just how much can regional celebrity status go in supporting a players non-collective NIL earnings? For Fleming, four years after he made his mark at the high school level, it seems to have still played a role.
Fleming's progression as an influencer in Central Pennsylvania may serve as good guidance to players looking to make a move back home in the transfer portal. It may also signal to top level high school recruits that the most lucrative spot for them to play is where they are already established.
