Georgia football's Stetson Bennett rings up NIL deal off Tennessee fans blasting his phone

Stetson Bennett is turning his phone getting inundated with calls and text messages the day before the Tennessee game from Volunteer fans into a chance to ring up some more NIL money.

Two days after the Georgia football quarterback held up his hand like he was on the phone after scoring on a 13-yard touchdown run in a 27-13 win against the Volunteers, T-shirts of the image were being sold online.

“Call me 27-13” is the wording on The Players Trunk merchandise. Black T-shirts are going for $29.99 and hoodies for $49.99.

Another T-shirt that says “Ring Me” with an image of Bennett and his autograph is offered up by Breaking T for $34.

'It’s deafening': How the noise in Sanford Stadium helped Georgia football beat Tennessee

More: Even with a couple of contributors sidelined, UGA offensive line kept rolling vs. Vols

The Players Trunk worked directly with Bennett  to get the merchandise available by Monday morning, according to its co-founder.

“What makes us so unique in whatever we do is working with the athlete,” Hunter Pomerantz said.

Bennett said he got between 600 and 700 phone calls and texts after his number was leaked. He also mimicked holding a phone after his touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey.

“I didn’t even realize he was getting that many calls and text until after the game,” McConkey said Monday.

Hunter and his brother Austin Pomerantz and a third partner started The Players Trunk in 2020. They were all college basketball student managers. Hunter was at Syracuse and Austin at Michigan.

“When those Nike or Jordan boxes show up at the facility, it’s like Christmas morning for these guys and girls and we were the ones distributing that product to them,” said Hunter, who is based out of Hauppauge, N.Y., on Long Island.

They started selling player second-hand merchandise on Instagram and even meet ups in the park, Pomerantz said. They started their own platform on the web for sales.

When NIL became reality in the summer of 2021, they moved into selling merchandise for active college athletes.

When Bennett’s name started trending on Twitter Saturday, the Players Trunk team went into action.

Also: On a day when marquee programs tumbled to losses, UGA football leaves no doubt who is No. 1

They already had a relationship with Bennett and Everett with a Bennett trading card earlier this season.

“When he does that celebration, we already have the wheels moving on our side of things,” Pomerantz said. “Our design team works 24-7 around the clock. We have designers all over the U.S. and even the world because someone’s got to be on call for us.”

As for how much Bennett will make off of the T-shirts with The Players Trunk, Pomerantz said Bennett will receive “the lion’s share of what’s out there especially when you compare it to some of these group licensing deals.”

ESM, which represents Bennett for NIL opportunities,projected before the season that Bennett would earn nearly $1 million in NIL deals in the first year of the firm representing him.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football QB Stetson Bennett cashes in on viral phone moment