USC quarterback Caleb Williams has changed college football, on and off the field in one short month. By moving from Oklahoma and landing at USC with ex Sooners coach Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams has made one of the traditionally strongest college football teams relevant once again and a contender for the playoff next season.
However, the strategic NIL dealings of Williams have been just as great, taking a critical look at the future of how college athletes will build their personal business profiles.
In Williams’ first few days as a Trojan, he appeared on the popular “Good Morning America” show to promote his personal project, the anti-bullying Caleb Cares Foundation, and made public major NIL deals with two of the hottest Sports brands: Beats by Dre and Fanatics for formerly licensed autographed memorabilia. His first media round as a Trojan and both NIL deals made the national news in their own ways, but what came next set him apart from every other college athlete in America.
While most NIL-related deals are always marketing partnerships, Caleb Williams, who was previously the face of College Basketball picks in a certain week, instead invested his hard-earned fund into male grooming brand Faculty, becoming co-owner and the face of future marketing campaigns, product partnerships, and collaborations, as well as revenue partnerships.
Thought to be the first key investment in an already existing company by a college athlete in the era of NIL Williams’ stake in the Faculty project elevates him to innovator status across college football athletics, paving the way for the evolution in the NIL.
Famous Sports lawyer and associate professor at the Pepperdine University Alicia Jessop told Boardroom, “Williams investing in Faculty shows the breadth of possibility for college athletes through their NIL.”
“The deal is an example of a college athlete using endorsement and investment opportunities to not only build his personal brand but take control of his financial future” he concluded.
Williams, however, knows that most college football athletes do not have the rare privilege to invest in brands and companies this early in their Sports careers, saying on Good Morning America: “I’ve been fortunate enough throughout my childhood to be in certain situations in my life. So no, [NIL considerations during the transfer window] weren’t really that big for me. But I do get to do some cool partnerships.”
Williams’ partner at athlete private investment platform Patricof Co, Matt Siegel, told Boardroom:
“College athletes are a bit different than professional athletes — especially financially — and their personal business strategy needs to be a long-term one. Rather than focus on writing checks, college athletes should place far more emphasis on overall business and investment education, networking, and building the right relationships, especially in the NIL era.”
Williams’ incredible connectivity to the male space and Faculty’s inch-perfect offerings, make this a business relationship and investment built on authenticity. The headlines made and social media conversation last campaign with his consistent nail polish on match days, including an impressive design during Red River, where Caleb Williams led the Sooners to a nail-biting comeback against Texas.
Jessop added, noting that Williams’ mother is a nail technician, “This is a meaningful deal, as it aligns with Williams’ personal background and sense of style.”
“Oftentimes, a great investment strategy is to buy into products you use, which is what Williams did here” he concluded.
Continuing to improve and enrich his NIL portfolio with another unprecedented deal, Williams collaborated with Hawkins Way Capital. Hawkins Way Capital is a real estate private equity fund, based in Beverly Hills that manages about $2 billion in assets. Partners of the firm disclosed to the Los Angeles Times that they desire to educate Caleb Williams about the real estate industry overall and possibly partner on future investments and businesses.
