TAMPA, Fla. — The first generation of college student-athletes profiting from their name, image, and likeness is on the ground floor of the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics. Some athletes are using their personal brands to make a positive impact on others.
Grant Green is a lacrosse player at the University of Tampa. The Aurora, CO native is the son of a firefighter who served in the Navy. Green's grandfather also served in the Navy. Now, Green wants to use his NIL to help honor their legacy.
"It’s really special for me to do so. That’s my why," Green said via video chat. "That’s why I get out of be every day. That’s why I put my helmet on. That’s why I practice as hard as I can every day. It’s for them."
Green is partnering with the Tunnel To Towers Foundation, which serves and supports the families of first responders and military personnel.
"The Foundation comes in and steps up to pay off the mortgages of the family’s house. Or when it comes to the case of first responders, or military members that come home with catastrophic injuries, we do what we can to provide them with SmartHome features to make their lives a lot easier," Nick Diamantis, the Foundation's media relations manager, explained.
Grant admits that his grandmother is the one who jump started his interest in Tunnel To Towers.
"My grandma actually donates a lot to Tunnel To Towers. She recently donated her Ford Expedition to that foundation," Green recalled. "She actually brought it up to me that they’re doing a Student Advocacy Program, and it’d be worth the time to at least apply. Reach out to them, see what that’s about, learn more. I applied, and the rest kind of worked itself out."
Diamantis says the most impressive thing about the student-athletes is that they're the ones who reached out and made the first call to Tunnel To Towers, to see how they could make an impact using their name, image, and likeness.
"They come to us with their ideas about how they want to support the Foundation," he said. "We work with their universities and their athletic departments to find the best way to do that. Without them, this program isn’t where it is right now. It’s really cool to see it grow."
Most of the headlines in the NIL universe trend toward college football and college basketball, but Grant says he's excited to see more athletes in more sports using their NIL to raise money and awareness for positive causes.
"I think the near future it will continue to grow," he added. "As the sport gets more popular and we start to get more people involved in it, then I think NIL will only continue to grow."
Grant already has family and friends donating to the Foundation, and he's pledged a financial donation for every goal the Spartans score this season. For more information about Tunnel To Towers, head to TRT.org.
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