UWM Holdings To Pay Michigan State Basketball, Football Players For Social Media Promotion In NIL Deal

One of the largest mortgage companies in the country is stepping up its marketing plan using the new NCAA name, image and likeness rule.

What Happened: UWM Holdings Corp (NYSE: UWMC), which went public in one of the largest SPAC deals ever, is partnering with Michigan State basketball and football players.

Each student-athlete for Michigan State’s men's basketball and football teams will be paid $500 a month for the length of their playing career. MSU athletes will market United Wholesale Mortgage on their social media pages to help “get the word out about home-lending options."

The sponsorship will cover all 133 members of the teams.

UWM Holdings is led by Mat Ishbia, who was a walk-on athlete on the MSU basketball team. He donated a record $32 million to Michigan State in February towards its athletics program.

“The Spartan family sticks together and that’s what makes MSU athletics so special,” Ishbia said Wednesday. “Each player contributes to the team in a positive way and we’re excited to help support them, while also helping educate consumers about the benefits of independent mortgage brokers.”

Related Link: NCAA Athletes Can Now Make A Profit Off Their NIL: What To Know And Some Early Deals

Why It’s Important: The total cost of the partnership is around $800,000 annually. UWMC is betting on additional business brought in through the partnership while also supporting a school with close ties to its founder.

MSU athletes have begun sharing posts about UWMC under the #SponsoredbyUWM hashtag.

Other publicly traded companies have jumped on the name, image and likeness sponsorship opportunities.

Boost Mobile, a unit of DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ: DISH) signed a deal with twin basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder, who play at Fresno State and have large social media followings.

Barstool Sports, which is a partially owned unit of Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN), launched an entire NCAA marketing arm to sign players to deals in exchange for social media marketing and potential licensing efforts.

The move by UWM could increase the rivalry between the company and Rocket Companies Inc (NYSE: RKT). Rocket Mortgage signed a sponsorship with MSU basketball earlier this year.

Photo: Ken Lund, Flickr