Former Auburn football QB–and projected Oregon Ducks Week 1 starter–Bo Nix has signed another NIL deal, this time with Topps Company and Fanatics.
Nix, along with Bryce Young, Stetson Bennett, and Caleb Williams, will have trading cards released for the 2023-25 seasons.
As of yet, no Auburn football stars have been named, but 35 teams are taking part in the deal. It could be a matter of time before we hear of Tank Bigsby doing the same thing based on what Dave Leiner, Topps global vice president and general manager, said in a prepared statement:
"“This collection is the first offering of officially licensed collegiate cards featuring current athlete NIL rights. We’re thrilled at the opportunity to launch these comprehensive programs that combine premier student-athletes and elite institutions to create a best-in-class collegiate trading card product for fans and collectors.”"
The statement made by Derek Eiler, executive vice president of Fanatics College, all but guarantees Auburn football being included in this program:
"“Fanatics has been closely monitoring the ever-evolving NIL landscape, and we felt this was the perfect time to launch multiple, strategic college trading card programs that will allow schools and current student-athletes to create new levels of direct engagement with fans across hundreds of the top programs nationwide. There are tremendous opportunities for this untapped area of the hobby and to expand further across the collegiate sports landscape.”"
You can’t name 25, let alone 100, programs that qualify as being a ‘top program’ that fit that label better than AU.
The Tigers will matter on a national scale–from coast to coast as far as card collectors go, with a concentration in the big cities–if they can upset teams at home and handle their main rivals and the Mississippi teams on the road. There’s not much travel for Auburn this year, so hopefully that plays a positive role in the results.
Then, the value of Auburn football cards will raise. Win-win.