• Loading stock data...
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Signs Starting QBs to NIL Deals As Landscape Shifts

College football bowl games don’t have quite the same meaning as they used to, but some are staying relevant by paying star players through NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals.

The Tennessean

The expanded College Football Playoff isn’t the only thing that’s evolved in the sport’s shifting landscape.

Non-CFP bowl games, which are being played throughout the holiday season, continue to mark new territory by paying some participating players via NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals. 

The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl recently announced NIL deals, via the game’s title sponsor, for the starting quarterbacks of both teams playing in the Dec. 31 matchup in Orlando. South Carolina freshman LaNorris Sellers and Illinois junior Luke Altmyer are the lucky duo cashing in. Financial details were not released.

While neither Sellers nor Altmyer were major candidates to opt out of their bowl game—a common practice for NFL Draft prospects and transfer portal players these days—the growing influence of NIL deals could keep some bowl games more relevant by retaining star players. Last year, Cheez-It was one of several snack brands that made a profitable mark with wild activations around bowl sponsorships.

Players from Miami (Ohio) and Colorado State are also set to receive NIL deals around their clash in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop (try saying that three times fast) on Saturday. In May, after taking over as the game’s new title sponsor, the rapper announced he had lined up several sponsors to fund NIL pacts for this year’s bowl game. Specifics of those NIL deals have yet to be made public.

NIL deals at bowl games are required to be a shared initiative between the bowls, the participating institutions, and their conferences. Traditionally, bowl games pay participation fees—sometimes several million dollars for premier games—to each school’s conference. That money could be shared with players directly, though, Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli previously told Front Office Sports.

“If the conferences and the universities were to tell the bowl games, ‘Hey, we would like these payments to go directly to the student-athletes through NIL,’ then that would be very easy for the bowl games to execute,” said Carparelli, whose organization oversees more than 40 bowl games each year.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Bengals Extend Stadium Lease After $350M in Public Funds for Renovation

The Bengals will stay in the 25-year-old stadium through at least 2036.
opinion

ESPN-NFL Deal Still Contends With a Wild Card: Trump’s Approval

Negotiations between the NFL and Disney have been ongoing for four years

Commanders Seal Stadium Deal As D.C. Approves $1.1B in Funding

The NFL team’s return to its prior home receives key political support.

Belichick Bump Creating Record UNC Ticket Prices

The cost of seeing the NFL legend’s college coaching debut is soaring.

Featured Today

Coco Gauff at New York Liberty

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.
Las Vegas sign
July 29, 2025

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
Stanford

John Donahoe Taking Over Stanford Sports After Rocky Nike Tenure

John Donahoe will be Stanford’s AD after a four-year stint running Nike.
Rutgers
July 28, 2025

Rutgers Finds New Athletic Director After Almost a Year

Rutgers’s previous athletic director, Pat Hobbs, resigned in August 2024.
NCAA Track
July 31, 2025

NIL Collectives Can Still Pay College Athletes, With Some Restrictions

NIL collectives will still play a pivotal role in recruiting.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Mitchell Evans (88) runs the ball against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half in the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
July 25, 2025

‘More Bark Than Bite’: What Trump’s Executive Order Means for College Sports

“This all comes down to Congress and the courts.”
July 24, 2025

UNC’s Bill Belichick Brings His NFL Swagger to ACC Media Days

UNC is becoming one of the most interesting stories in college football.
President Donald Trump speaks during the American 250 kickoff event on July 3, 2025, at the Iowa State Fairgrouds.
July 24, 2025

Trump Signs Executive Order on College Sports Pay

The order marks Trump’s first foray into legislating college sports compensation.
July 24, 2025

ACC’s Phillips on FSU, Clemson: ‘It Can Never Be About a School..

The commissioner isn’t worried about more conference realignment.