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Last Updated on December 28, 2021
Update as of 12/28/21: More than 100 female student athletes have opted into this deal. Every athlete who opts in will split $20,000 and the two athletes with the highest reach on social media will each receive an additional $2,500. Each team was able to select a date to attend a hockey game, where they get free food, drinks and merchandise and take photos on the ice. Softball, women’s basketball and beach volleyball have already attended with more teams attending in 2022.
The NHL’s Florida Panthers have offered name, image and likeness deals to more than 200 female student athletes at Florida Atlantic University. This includes all female student athletes, with the exception of international student athletes who aren’t eligible because of visa restrictions.
“We’re so excited to announce this next stage of our ‘FLA Athlete’ program and bring an entire collegiate athlete women’s program into our Panthers family,” said Panthers chief strategy officer Sam Doerr. “We look forward to supporting and collaborating with these talented female athletes in our South Florida community on innovative ideas and events in South Florida.”
Interested FAU female student athletes can apply to join the “FLA Athlete” program through NIL platform Dreamfield. Miami quarterback D’Eriq King, who is a co-founder of Dreamfield, previously signed the first NIL deal with the Florida Panthers. It was the first NIL deal by a major professional sports team, although several others have now signed student athletes.
Corey Staniscia, Dreamfield’s director of external affairs, said the Panthers jumped on the opportunity to work with student athletes from the beginning.
“The Panthers were looking to get into the NIL market right away as an early adopter. Being a great community partner is something the Panthers value, so Dreamfield began consulting the Panthers on what are standard and typical deals and how to best leverage NIL.”
Staniscia says the Panthers chose FAU because they wanted to support a hometown university as a way to show their commitment to the community.
“The NHL has been promoting ‘Hockey is For Everyone’ and this was a good way to show community support for women and our local hometown university of FAU. The ‘FLA Athlete’ program will showcase the unique abilities and personalities of each FAU female athlete that participates.”
Dreamfield will be the background technology and consultant on the “FLA Athlete” program for the Florida Panthers.
Female athletes who sign up to be part of the program will receive a Panthers t-shirt and be invited to attend Panthers hockey games, where they can engage with their own fanbases through social media posts. They’ll also have the opportunity to earn money by promoting Panthers tickets and merchandise through affiliate links.
This piece originally appeared on Forbes
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