College HUNKS Signs Award-Winning High School Chess Team to NIL Deal
By Darian Kelly
Last Updated on July 25, 2024
Florida recently made history by becoming the 36th state that allows high school athletes to capitalize on their name, image, and likeness. This progressive move, following in the footsteps of Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee, has opened up new opportunities for high school students to engage in NIL deals.
Today, the Sunshine State has witnessed a historic moment. A team that excels not on the athletic field but on the chessboard has secured the first NIL deal as a high school team. The highly-acclaimed Frazer School chess team, which includes International Master Bach Ngo (11th grade), Abhiram Pothuri (10th grade), Jerry Yao (10th grade), Jolie Huang (10th grade), and Coach and National Master Britt Ryerson, has entered into a NIL sponsorship with the Tampa, Florida-based moving and junk removal company, College HUNKS.
The partnership encourages College HUNKS’ commitment to valuing students on and off the playing field and brings awareness to teams not typically associated with name, image, and likeness opportunities.
College HUNKS will cover the chess team’s travel and other related expenses. Since its inception, College HUNKS has been at the forefront of initiating unique NIL partnerships. Three years ago, the company signed the Howard University men’s basketball team, marking the first endorsement of an HBCU athletic team.
Additionally, on July 1, 2021, they signed former University of Miami quarterback D’Eriq King, becoming the first company to secure an athlete to a NIL deal. They also signed the first high school athlete to a NIL deal in Maryland volleyball phenom Alexis Ewing, the daughter of NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing.
As NIL deals expand their reach, they will inspire and empower teams across many sports, reshaping the landscape of athlete endorsements and partnerships for years. It shows that NIL opportunities are not exclusively available to high-profile athletes playing traditional sports. As a result, brands and organizations are embracing and investing in emerging and underrepresented teams, broadening the scope of potential partnerships.
