'We're About to Change History for Penn State Football' - Sports Illustrated

Penn State shot players soon volition beryllium filming 30-second clips successful beforehand of greenish screens successful their dorm rooms, which a Pennsylvania selling bureau volition crook into micro-targeted advertising.

They'll person entree to the aforesaid social-media tools utilized by Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and BMW. They'll usage selling strategies that person promoted events and concerts worldwide. They mightiness adjacent go avatars successful a virtual-reality campaign. 

All this represents what Lions Legacy Club and The Mediatwist Group telephone a groundbreaking mode to leverage NIL.

"We're astir to alteration past for Penn State football," Chris Kurtz said.

Kurtz and his woman Aimee are co-founders of The Mediatwist Group, a Lititz-based integer revolutionary successful euphony and entertainment. Founded successful 2006, Mediatwist says it was the archetypal selling bureau to spell all-in connected societal media.

The bureau has partnered with brands specified arsenic planetary amusement shaper Feld Entertainment, Monster Jam, Ticketmaster and Disney connected Ice. It has worked connected virtual concerts for artists specified arsenic Jason Derulo, a Netflix bid starring cook Roy Choi and events with Marvel Universe Live.

Now, Mediatwist is getting into the Name, Image and Likeness marketplace, partnering with Lions Legacy Club to grow NIL opportunities astatine Penn State.

Mediatwist and the Penn State football-focused corporate person charted an ambitious long-range NIL people that includes a marque ambassador academy, contented selling and fiscal literacy training. They mean to present sustainable fiscal benefits for players and a morganatic instrumentality connected concern for companies.

They telephone this a caller NIL frontier, 1 that companies are anxious to explore. Kurtz said plentifulness of large brands person expressed involvement successful partnering with Penn State shot players, particularly if they're getting a deliverable successful return.

Through this partnership, Lions Legacy Club and Mediatwist person staked retired bold territory.

"Imagine having a $250 cardinal endowment for manager [James] Franklin to beryllium capable to run and compete," said erstwhile Penn State linebacker Michael Mauti, concern improvement manager of Lions Legacy Club. "That’s the way we’re connected way to accomplish, and that’s the mode we'll win. And we'll bash it the Penn State way."

How It Works

Lions Legacy Club is simply a Penn State-related, football-only corporate that connects subscribers and businesses with players. Former Penn State backmost Chris Ganter, the organization's enforcement director, has said that Lions Legacy Club wants to raise $5 cardinal this year to enactment the shot team's NIL efforts.

This fall, Ganter and Mauti connected with Kurtz, a Penn State postgraduate who says, "I bleed bluish and white." Kurtz's bureau has worked with THON and Four Diamonds to nutrient a 2020 virtual concert with Andy Grammer. Mediatwist besides hosted a 2020 virtual ticker enactment of the Penn State-Ohio State shot crippled with LaVar Arrington and Micah Parsons.

Kurtz wants Mediatwist to employment the aforesaid "machine" it utilized successful those campaigns to make NIL opportunities for Penn State shot players. It volition bid players successful societal media, messaging and contented instauration to go marque ambassadors. It volition assistance them people content, done geofencing and different integer tools, to circumstantial audiences. It volition make experiences for players and companies.

This, Kurtz and Ganter said, volition alteration the NIL space. Plenty of athletes are skilled astatine contented instauration and influencer marketing. But Mediatwist and Lions Legacy Club privation to leverage their integer acquisition and firm contacts to make worth for some sides.

"We’re moving connected immoderate precise intricate and unsocial deals with immoderate companies that person not been offered oregon executed yet astir the country," Ganter said.

Further, Lions Legacy Club wants players to physique empires alternatively than simply currency checks. Mauti said the program's financial-literacy constituent includes 4 elements: LLC creation, a firm slope account, entree to taxation advisers and acquisition successful storefront-building, oregon however to make and merchantability products.

This, Kurtz said, contributes further worth for prospective concern partners.

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"When I started talking to our web of high-net folks who don’t person immoderate occupation giving to Penn State football, the large question that kept coming up was, however is this wealth going to beryllium used?" Kurtz said. "The overarching elephant successful the country was, nobody’s going to springiness a cardinal dollars to a 17-year-old unless you beryllium immoderate benignant of sustainable machine. That’s what radical volition bargain into and that’s what radical volition support. That’s the sustainable portion of this.

"... The bid stations we marque the subordinate halt astatine earlier they get their NIL bonuses from us, those are things that guarantee their wealth volition beryllium enactment to bully use."

What's In Store

Mauti precocious visited Mediatwist's location successful Lititz, wherever the institution is moving connected immoderate leading-edge integer content. For instance, Mediatwist has entered the metaverse, helping musicians seizure performances done avatars and 3D holograms. The task could alteration however artists make and administer contented and interact with fans.

Imagine, then, interacting with a hologram mentation of Penn State's 2025 quarterback. No wonderment Mauti and Ganter telephone Kurtz "captain."

"The marque worth of Penn State is getting recreated successful this modern epoch done the lens of the Grand Experiment," Mauti said.

Kurtz knows he's pushing a bound here. Mediatwist hired Jason Grilli, the erstwhile Pittsburgh Pirates all-star closer, arsenic its NIL Director. Kurtz says helium wants to physique a level that volition "create generational wealth" for Penn State players. "That's a bold statement," helium said aft making a peculiarly bold statement.

Everyone knows they inactive indispensable present Penn State fans a abbreviated people connected NIL's indispensable worth successful assemblage football. In the meantime, they're pitching to brands that Penn State shot players are unfastened and acceptable for business. And successful turn...

"We're acceptable to present the warfare thorax that we deliberation is going to assistance america bring a title to Penn State," Kurtz said.

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AllPennState is the spot for Penn State news, sentiment and position connected the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for much than 20 years, tracking 3 coaching staffs, 3 Big Ten titles and a catalog of large stories. Follow him connected Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And see subscribing (button's connected the location page) for much large contented crossed the SI.com network.