Miami QB D'Eriq King signs NIL deal with NHL's Florida Panthers
Miami quarterback D’Eriq King continues to take advantage of name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities.
On Monday, it was announced that King has signed an NIL agreement with the NHL’s Florida Panthers. The Panthers have started their own NIL program and made King the first member. In the process, King became the first college athlete to sign an NIL agreement with a professional sports franchise.
According to the team, King “will appear at Panthers games and events and work closely with the Panthers digital and social media teams.” King will also “develop a merchandise collection” and have his own concession menu item at the Panthers’ arena.
"D'Eriq is a superstar both on and off the field and we are excited to reach and engage South Florida sports fans in new ways through this collaborative partnership,” said Sam Doerr, the Panthers’ chief strategy officer.
Making moves ✍️
D'Eriq King (@DeriqKing_) has signed as our first-ever FLA Athlete, becoming the first collegiate athlete to sign an NIL agreement with a pro sports team!
📝 » https://t.co/3dZAMi8rlX pic.twitter.com/sr85OmTfPq— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) August 9, 2021
On July 1, college athletes were permitted to earn income via the use of their NIL when the NCAA suspended its long-standing amateurism rules related to athletes earning from opportunities like endorsements and autograph signings.
King, entering his second season at Miami after transferring in from Houston, has taken full advantage of the change. Before the partnership with the Panthers, King also agreed to NIL deals with a local restaurant (The Wharf), a local auto dealership (Murphy Auto Group), a moving company (College Hunks Moving) and a trading card company (Panini America).
"I think the whole NIL thing, I think it's really good for college football," King said at ACC Media Days last month. "My thing was work with good companies. You can't work with everybody. You want to work with companies that align with your core values. You don't want to go out there and work with that company, that company, that company."
King tore his ACL in Miami’s bowl game last season, but is expected to be ready when the Hurricanes open their season against Alabama on Sept. 4 in Atlanta. King threw for 2,686 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 64.1% of his throws in 2020. He also rushed for 538 yards and four scores.
"Football is still the main thing. A lot of people are worried about how it can affect your play. For us, I know University of Miami, all my teammates, football is the main goal," King said. "We're not worried about the NIL thing. We just want to play football. Whenever we have time to deal with that stuff, we'll deal with that kind of stuff."
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