Another positive step for Michigan NIL: ‘Similar to what they have at Ohio State and Texas’

The Valiant Management Group has done a lot of great work in the NIL landscape for Michigan football and other U-M athletic programs.

NIL hasn’t been quite what it was expected to be for Michigan. Some other programs have been more proactive and more willing to bend, break, or ignore the rules altogether.

The Wolverines haven’t done that. There has been some impact, such as on Michigan football recruiting. U-M has struggled to land high-end talents in the past few classes and some have suggested NIL is to blame.

Yet, things have improved drastically. This offseason was a huge step forward. Despite Jim Harbaugh leaving for the NFL, along with a bunch of assistants, there wasn’t a mass exodus. Michigan football retained all of its top players and Champions Circle, which is part of Valiant, played a key role in that.

BREAKING: Valiant Management Group set to partner with national firm in a significant move for Michigan NIL #GoBlue https://t.co/am0RhTqLes pic.twitter.com/hntKQMGrZT

— Chris Balas (@Balas_Wolverine) May 27, 2024

More good news for Michigan football NIL

And it sounds like there’s going to be even more resources available for Champions Circle as there is a new reported deal between the collective and a third-party Ad agency. Chris Balas of The Wolverine reported that on Sunday and here’s more.

“There will be a relationship between Champions Circle and this agency similar to what they have at Ohio State and Texas. The objective is to continue to bring a ton of marketing deals for Michigan student-athletes,” said Jared Wangler (co-founder of Valiant), noting he’d be working for this agency, technically. “There’s going to be a retainer relationship between Valiant, Champions Circle, and the agency, similar to what we nearly contracted with them about a year and a half ago. We’re going to use this retainer relationship to bring more marketing opportunities to Michigan student-athletes.

“The retainer we sign with them is going to go toward support staff to be sourcing out deals, and it will tie into not just commercial opportunities, but unique events and different opportunities to bring more donors in, bring more fans in. It’s similar to what we’ve been doing but working with a professional national outlet to bring more opportunities to the market.”

The “similar to what they have at Ohio State and Texas” stood out to me. That would be a game-changer and it’s another sign of the progress, which has been very real over the past year or so.

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