The Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop recently announced a new name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with athletes.
The deal will pay all athletes on both teams in the bowl game.
Snoop Dogg said the Arizona Bowl wanted to be a leader for other bowl games around the country.
“Adding NIL opportunities for the student-athletes of the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop is the next evolution of college sports and we wanted to lead by example,” Snoop Dogg said in a press release. “We can’t wait to give our players the opportunity to serve the community of Tucson during bowl week while at the same time using their name, image and likeness to rightfully earn money for themselves and their families.”
The NCAA adopted a new policy in 2021 that allowed players to earn money from their name, image and likeness after years of it not being allowed.
Kym Adair, executive director of the Arizona Bowl, said Snoop Dogg saw NIL compensation as an important issue to tackle.
“He (Snoop Dogg) is very excited and passionate about this specific issue,” Adair said. “He is a cheerleader for student-athletes being able to monetize their name, image and likeness.”
Adair noted that the money for the athletes will come from brand partnerships. She said Snoop Dogg’s team is currently working on partnering with brands to help fund the deal.
According to Adair, the specifics of what the athletes will do for compensation are yet to be determined, but it will involve some community service.
Despite only announcing the partnership with Snoop Dogg on May 6, this isn’t the first time the Arizona Bowl has been at the forefront of change in the college football bowl game landscape.
This year, it became the first bowl to partner with an alcoholic beverage as the presenting sponsor.
Adair said the bowl is always looking for ways to introduce new ideas. She credited its independence as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for allowing them to attempt to find new ways to draw people in.
“I think we’re always looking to innovate and make our game more and more desirable and special. And we’ve had a lot of opportunities over the last 10 years to do that and be a bowl that does some firsts,” Adair said.
NIL has been a controversial topic after the NCAA allowed players to earn profit from it. Adair described the reaction to their NIL deal as largely positive.
With higher-level athletes sitting out of bowl games to prepare for the NFL becoming more prevalent, Adair said NIL compensation might help with that, but it wasn’t their main focus. The goal is to help the other athletes who might not have as many opportunities as others to earn NIL money.
“Generally, we’re just really interested in providing opportunities for a lot of the 98% of kids who aren’t going to the NFL to effectively leverage their name, image and likeness, but make some money for themselves, their families and their futures,” Adair said.
The Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop will be held at Arizona Stadium on Dec.28. The game will be televised on the CW Network.
