The NCAA’s new name, image and likeness rules have created some interesting off-the-field alignments. It’s not uncommon to see college players make commercial pitches for everything from credit unions to all-you-can-eat wings.
But Jamil Muhammad, Georgia State’s 6-foot-2, 245-pound All-Sun Belt Conference linebacker, is going in a different direction. He’s betting on himself by creating and bankrolling his own “JM9″ clothing line to produce shirts and shorts that are popping up all over the campus.
Picture Calvin Klein as a sack master.
“People love clothes,” Muhammad said. “They love nice material that they can get for less money. I took that and ran with it.”
Nothing about Muhammad’s college football career has been typical. He signed with Vanderbilt as a quarterback out of Madison, Ala., and transferred to Georgia State in 2019. After taking a redshirt season, he was moved to linebacker in 2020 and spent most of the year learning the position. It all came together in 2021, when he led the team with six sacks and a 72-yard scoop-and-score.
Now he’s scoring with his own clothing brand, which he sells online through social media posts and email orders. Customers see the clothes on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, contact him to place the order and he delivers the goods. He soon will have a website for customers to place online orders and help him achieve his goal.
“I want everybody in the stands wearing it,” he said. “I know they’re supporting Georgia State, but I also want my brand to be out there, and I want it to grow at a pace that it’s supposed to do so.”
Marcus Williams, who is working with Muhammad on the NIL deal, found a designer to create the “JM9″ logo, which is the same shape as a football. He has a new line of shirts with the phrase “Phenom9,” a nickname that Muhammad’s father tagged him with years ago. Another line with the slogan “God’s Work Hard Work” reflects his spiritual beliefs.
Muhammad admitted that it was fun to see other people – some whom he didn’t even know – wearing his design.
“I want everybody in the stands wearing it. I know they're supporting Georgia State, but I also want my brand to be out there, and I want it to grow at a pace that it's supposed to do so."
“When I saw it for the first time, I just thought, ‘Man, this could really go,’” he said. “This could go far. I think the overall goal is to continue to grow a base of people that know your brand and know the meaning behind it.”
Coach Shawn Elliott said, “It must be flying off the shelf because it seems like every week is something different. He’s one of those guys who has done his homework, how to promote it, how to sell it … and kids are wearing it. People on the team are wearing it, people outside and inside the program.”
Muhammad, who was on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in 2021-22, is working toward completing his major in social entrepreneurship. He loves to read and currently is devouring Tim Grover’s popular “Relentless” book. He just finished an internship with Hopeful Change, an organization that oversees programs that mentor and assist at-risk youth.
“(The clothing) is just the first step in many opportunities before I eventually go to the NFL,” he said. “You’ve got to take your blessings as they come.”
With the season opener at South Carolina looming Sept. 3, Muhammad has spent less time on the clothing and more time on preparing to challenge for a Sun Belt Conference championship.
“When I first got here, it was something that people didn’t think we could do,” he said. “I started seeing that change when we beat Tennessee back in 2019, and I think as time went on, you can see people believing, and I don’t think there’s any disbelief that we can do what we say we’re going to do. I think we’re walking it more than we’re talking it.”
Credit: Daniel Wilson Action Photo
Credit: Daniel Wilson Action Photo
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