In many ways, Trevor Lawrence is an athlete endorser fit for the modern era. At age 21, the Clemson junior star quarterback and likely first pick at Thursday’s National Football League Draft is a departure from the typical all-American quarterback, with his signature long locks and outspoken nature among the traits that have endeared him especially to Gen Z sports fans. Likewise, his endorsement deals thus far have been anything but cookie-cutter, running the gamut from the buttoned-down and traditional to the avant-garde and futuristic.
Lawrence is currently a 100-1 favorite to be selected first overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars—and to the marketing world, he appears to be an equally sure bet. He has already locked in multi-year deals with Gatorade and Adidas, been featured in a retro Topps trading card collection and this week announced a new partnership with Blockfolio, a cryptocurrency company. In almost every case, he is breaking new ground. Lawrence is the first-ever NFL rookie to officially endorse Gatorade, for example.
But it is in the latter deals where he is truly pushing the envelope. The traditional exclusive box set of Topps trading cards sold out, so Lawrence and company on Tuesday released what Topps described as its first first football-related NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that were put up for sale during a 24-hour period using the Mintable blockchain. Crypto is both a calculated business risk and a personal passion for Lawrence, whose name and likeness will be used to encourage adoption of cryptocurrency payment via the Blockfolio mobile app. Welcome to the new world of athlete marketing, 21st Century style.
Entrusted with the responsibility of building Lawrence’s brand is New York-based Excel Sports Management, which has represented Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter and Tiger Woods, and currently works with stars of the National Basketball Association (Nikola Jokic), Major League Baseball (Freddie Freeman) and the PGA Tour (Justin Thomas). Alan Zucker, partner at Excel, says that while Lawrence is a “true generational talent” with an obvious “it” factor, he is not consumed with his exposure or the number of endorsement deals he lands. “Trevor lives by two mottos: Football first and less is more,” says Zucker. “We’re not trying to change him or get him to fit a certain mold. He understands his objectives and goals in life. He knows how much money he wants to make and the direction he wants to take his brand.”
Lawrence expresses an unusual level of interest in the strategy behind the partnerships and often initiates meetings with company executives, adds Juliette Daley, director of marketing at Excel. “Trevor has been a part of our creative development from the beginning,” she says. “He brings a notebook with him wherever he goes and pays close attention to what’s happening around him. Brands take notice and appreciate that.”
At Gatorade, Lawrence joins a roster that includes J.J. Watt, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jayson Tatum, Elena Delle Donne, Zion Williamson, Sydney McLaughlin and Serena Williams. The company introduced him last week in a series of posts on Twitter that featured quotes from Manning, his past coaches and his father, Jeremy Lawrence.