How Outback is teaming up with college football stars in the NIL era

Outback Steakhouse is dipping its toes into the NIL waters. The restaurant has signed its first seven college football athletes to be part of its TeamMATES program, which will help raise money for local and national causes. The inaugural class includes University of Florida quarterbacks Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson; Ohio State University quarterback C.J. Stroud, wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson; and University of Michigan running back Blake Corum and wide receiver A.J. Henning. During a panel at Advertising Week, Kim Morales, Outback’s director of brand marketing, spoke about the process of getting the program set up and deciding on its inaugural class. “We started with football because that made the most sense in terms of fan base,” Morales said. “Part of that was looking at schools in our top markets, as well as the social media followings of the athletes there.” She pointed to Henning, who has 216,000 followers on TikTok. Outback already has a history of sports sponsorships, the biggest being the Outback Bowl, the college football game usually played on New Year’s Day. Although NIL — which stands for name, image and likeness — passed back in July, the brand decided to wait until further into the football season before signing its first athletes. With college sports having more volatility than professional sports, Outback wanted to see which players would have “more long-term leverage,” Morales said. But she admits that the process was longer and more challenging than they originally anticipated. “I thought we were going to do this internally and quickly realized that would not be the case,” she said during the panel. “Our corporate counsel advised us to get help with all the different state nuances.” Outback ended up partnering with Excel Sports Management. Another challenge has been working with the busy schedules of college athletes. “Between classes, practices, and other commitments, we’ve found that a lot is planned at the last minute,” Morales said. Starting Oct. 23, Outback will make donations of meals to military families in need through the nonprofit Operation Homefront. The players will also host local “give back” nights with teammates at select Outback locations to raise money for their favorite charities. Other panelists added that educating student athletes is a big part of working with them, since many don’t have agents. Often, brands are also talking with a parent or other family member. “Education is key for these athletes,” said Josh Goodstadt, executive VP of licensing at THINK450, for-profit licensing and business development entity of the National Basketball Players Association. “Many don’t know that they need to ask about term length, or exclusivity rights.” Former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand added that students exercising their NIL rights would do well to find a financial advisor or get help from their school. “You need to lean on some form of financial advisory. Some of these deals can be six figures,” he said. “You want to make sure you put aside the right amount of taxes and build up your savings, especially when most of these athletes won’t go pro.” Outback isn’t the only brand looking at football players specifically for NIL deals. In late September, Arby’s put out a tweet to NCAA Division 1 athletes interested in NIL opportunities. Specifically, it asked for running backs, a.k.a RBs. While its starter class is all football players, Outback says it plans to expand the program to include other sports, as well as female athletes, during the winter and spring sports seasons. Morales said that the brand has already received over 100 applications. To celebrate the first class, college students in Gainesville, Florida, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Columbus, Ohio, can get 10% off their purchase by showing their valid student ID in the restaurant or using promo code “10STUDENTS” when ordering online or in the app. The offer is valid from Oct. 21 to Oct. 24, and only for select locations in those towns. When asked whether the NIL class would somehow be a part of the upcoming Outback Bowl, Morales said, “We’ll see, it for sure provides an interesting opportunity.”

How Outback is teaming up with college football stars in the NIL era

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