Trevor Etienne earned taking part in time instantly final season.
The previous four-star prospect didn’t rush his dedication, ready till early January 2022 to decide on Florida. However as soon as on campus in Gainesville, he turned heads and earned carries within the Gators’ working again room.
Etienne completed with the fourth most dashing yards by a real freshman tailback at school historical past. Now in his second yr, he’s anticipated to type one of the vital underrated working again duos within the nation with Montrell Johnson Jr.
Forward of Thursday night time’s season opener at Utah, Etienne has inked an NIL deal with the OpenLocker fan group Gataverse. A proprietary NFT platform, the corporate makes use of blockchain expertise to create genuine athletes’ digital collectibles.
The sophomore has his personal restricted version collectible with Gataverse, which additionally serves as proof of membership for the group. Priced at $77, the autographed card grants entry to a meet-and-greet with the youthful brother of Jacksonville Jaguars working again Travis Etienne.
On prime of getting an opportunity to satisfy Etienne, followers who buy the cardboard will obtain a 20% low cost at Bleu Fowl Wings. For each time he scores two touchdowns in a Florida win, cardholders can cease by the Gainesville restaurant for seven wings, fries and a drink. The seven is an ode to the working again’s jersey quantity.
“The Trevor Etienne Assortment represents the subsequent degree of NIL which is designed to drive fan engagement with real-world utility tied to athlete efficiency,” Gataverse group supervisor Matt Ulino mentioned in a press release. “We’ve already seen how excited Gator followers are to get one thing tangible and meet their favourite athlete at an occasion. Native retailers like Bleu Fowl will convey the Gataverse group collectively by creating alternatives for followers to earn rewards and experiences.”
Launched this previous February, the Gataverse has launched collectibles with members of the boys’s basketball and ladies’s gymnastics groups. Shopping for an NFT permits followers to entry rewards and experiences linked with the athlete. Plans are in place to launch a member rewards card subsequent month.
OpenLocker operates different Bone Yard Huskyz Membership at UConn and Maddy Baddyz at Wisconsin.
“Partnering with Bleu Fowl Wings to reward my followers will make this coming season much more thrilling,” Etienne mentioned in a press release. “OpenLocker’s progressive method affords a one-of-kind expertise for Gator Nation to rejoice athletes and their successful performances on and off the sphere.”
Trevor Etienne’s rising NIL model
Etienne and Johnson have been considered one of solely three duos final season to eclipse 700 yards apiece and common over 5.4 yards per carry. Thursday night time on ESPN they’ll get their shot at constructing off of that. Whereas Florida went out and added former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz from the switch portal, Billy Napier’s offense in 12 months 2 shall be run-heavy.
The 5-foot-9, 205-pound tailback from Jennings, Louisiana, will play a big position. Working carefully with Sam Leaf on the Ballengee Group, he’s began to construct out an NIL portfolio, too. He partnered with GAMEDAY Merchandise final yr and has signed with the Gator-driven NIL collective Florida Victorious.
Etienne has constructed a serious model with almost 70,000 social media followers. He additionally has a $439,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks within the prime 100 of the college football NIL rankings.
The On3 NIL Valuation is the business’s main index that units the usual market NIL worth for highschool and school athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL worth utilizing dynamic information factors concentrating on three major classes: efficiency, affect and publicity.
About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value
Whereas the algorithm consists of deal information, it doesn’t act as a tracker of the worth of NIL deals athletes have accomplished thus far, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for his or her complete profession. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL alternative for athletes relative to the general NIL market and tasks out to so long as 12 months into the long run.