Georgia’s Jordan Davis a big beneficiary of NIL

“Size Matters,” the 672 square foot ad proclaims in huge script of one Atlanta’s largest lawfirms.

Next to it is a smiling picture of Davis, flexing his right bicep in a number 99 jersey which looks remarkably like the one he wears at Georgia but quite deliberately bears none of the Bulldogs’ brands or marks.

The Morgan & Morgan deal is one of the bigger ones Davis landed while still an amateur football player playing for books, board and tuition at UGA. He has since turned pro, blew up the NFL scouting combine last month in Indianapolis with an outstanding performance and now is expected to reap millions as an early selection in the NFL Draft.

Accordingly, many more endorsements are expected to come his way. But thanks to the NCAA and the state of Georgia’s NIL legislation, Davis was able to bank on his fame while still a student-athlete. College athletes were long forbidden by NCAA rules from receiving compensation for endorsements, autographs and the like, or from using their “name, image and likeness” (NIL) in any way to earn profits.

“At first I decided against it, but eventually I kind of flew into,” Davis said during the combine.

Flew into it is right. Last summer, when NIL legislation was first passed, Davis was asked about it at SEC Media Days and approached it like a rattlesnake on a footpath.

“Speaking for me, I’m just confused by it all,” the 6-foot-6, 340-pound senior noseguard said. “So, I haven’t really done anything. It’s confusing, honestly. I’m just more worried about the game.”

Smart approach.

Quarterback JT Daniels, who was attending Media Days alongside Davis, was at the moment brokering deals right and left. Considered a Heisman Trophy contender for the Bulldogs, Daniels eventually was signed a marketing deal with ESM of Greenville, S.C., to handle all the offers he had coming in.

Daniels got endorsement deals with Zaxby’s restaurants, a local clothier, and a trading card company, among others. Then, of course, he was injured and lost his starting job to Stetson Bennett.

Bennett proceeded to lead the Bulldogs to their first national championship in 41 years. And now he is receiving so many endorsement opportunities that he has been signed by ESM. So has freshman All-America tight end Brock Bowers.

The lesson is that it still behooves an athlete to perform well in their particular arena to be able to cash in on NIL opportunities.

But, nearly eight months into the advent of NIL, it’s a still-developing enterprise in college athletics. Slowly but surely, athletes and the institutions themselves are starting to get their arms around it, understand it and control it to some degree. But it’s still evolving.

Davis said it was the mystery of it all that made him hesitant.

“At first, it was uncertainty,” he said. “I didn’t know, like, what to do or how to go about it. But with a little bit of help from my mom (Shay Allen), who kind of spearheaded the whole operation, we decided exactly what we wanted to do.”

Eventually, Davis’ personal enterprise got too big even for mama to handle. Eventually he hired Lukman Abdulai to negotiate his off-field business. Abdulai, once the Bulldogs’ director of on-campus recruiting, entered the agent profession after leaving UGA in 2019. Now he represents both Davis and fellow defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt in their NFL pursuits.

But first, Abdulai came on to help Davis sort through his NIL opportunities in a consulting role.

“Jordan had a lot of cool experiences with NIL,” Abdulai said, laughing at the early memories of it. “He turned down a lot. Jordan was not a guy who took every offer. He was very selective about what he wanted to do. I kind of got to know what he and his mom were looking for and I just kind of tried to find companies that fit into that, and we were able to capitalize on some opportunities.”

Abdulai said the general process was Davis would be contacted via social media by individuals or businesses. If Davis found it interesting or intriguing, he would forward the information to his mother and Abdulai and they would discuss it in more detail.

There were three primary criteria: the financial benefits, of course; whether it meshed with Davis’ sensibilities and beliefs; and, finally, what would it require from a time and energy standpoint away from football.

“We would just talk through it and see if it made sense,” Abdulai said. “It was coming from a lot of different angles and it kind of picked up steam as the season went on. I think Jordan kind of caught fire at the right time. I would say his sample size probably wasn’t typical for his position. Most nosetackles aren’t going to make what he made in NIL.”

Neither Abdulai nor Davis would say how much money he ended up earning from NIL deals. Obviously, he’s going to earn a lot more now.

Not only does Davis project as a possible first-round draft selection, but Abdulai has continued to field endorsement opportunities for his biggest client.

“He’s an easy guy to sell,” Abdulai said. “We’ve got some cool things coming out here pretty soon. It’s been an amazing time for him.”

It’s an amazing time in college athletics. And it’s changing every minute, seemingly.

While it’s still the most popular and successful athletes who are benefiting most, the latest incarnation in the world of NIL are collectives. Collectives are groups that claim no direct affiliation with universities, but work with alumni and businesses to provide NIL to a specific school’s athletes.

Classic City Collective opened operations earlier this month in Athens and appointed former UGA compliance officer Matt Hibbs as CEO. With former Georgia linebacker John Staton serving as director of operations, the group effectively fund-raises from business leaders and UGA alumni to provide a pool of resources for endorsement and marketing opportunities specifically for UGA athletes. The idea is to “enrich, enhance and empower the lives of Georgia athletes,” not just those in the highest-profile sports.

That sounds nice, but skeptics warn that it’s real purpose is to provide a reservoir of money to funnel to football and basketball recruits.

Davis isn’t sure about all that. All he knows is that he was able to make “a little money” during his final year of college.

“It felt good, you know,” he said. “Just to be able to buy Christmas presents for my mom and my brothers, that’s one of those things beyond the game that makes you feel good.”