BYU Football Signs Team-Wide Endorsement Deal With Built Bar

PROVO, Utah – The BYU football program continues to take care of its athletes in the name, image, and likeness era. On Thursday, the program announced a team-wide endorsement with Built Bar that will bring money to all 123 players playing for BYU football, including 36 walk-on athletes.

BYU football tweeted out a picture of the eyeball emoji on Thursday. It was the same graphic they shared before announcing the Coastal Carolina game last December. So naturally, it sent BYU fans into a tizzy, wondering what the eyeballs could mean.

BIG things happening at BYU!!

Thank you to Nick and @bar_built. pic.twitter.com/ShJSiY21Bd

— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) August 12, 2021

Well, it’s a financial boom for members of the BYU football team.

During team meetings before the start of Day 6 of Camp Kalani, Built Bar announced its new partnership with the BYU football team. This endorsement will provide NIL money for all members of the BYU football program, from scholarship athletes to walk-ons.

Scott Warner, the CEO of Gigg, the feature sponsor of BYU’s Built4Life program, shared a video of the announcement.

RISE AND SHOUT. Awesome morning with the @BYUfootball team. Witnessed something pretty special today. @BYUBuilt4Life #BuiltBar This NIL space is just getting started y’all. Excited to be apart of it. @Gigg pic.twitter.com/l2RqyB8oBu

— SCOTT WARNER (@ScottWarner18) August 12, 2021

To go along with BYU’s Built4Life program, Utah Valley entrepreneurs Carl Sokia and Brandon Doyle established OhanaX, an agency that is representing nearly every player in the BYU football program. One of the goals for Sokia and Doyle has been to land team-wide sponsorship opportunities to give each BYU player an opportunity to make money in this historic NIL era.

The chance to make money for walk-ons is a significant piece to this Built Bar endorsement because that money can help cover the tuition costs for players. BYU has a rich history of walk-ons over the years. Kalani Sitake’s program has carried on that tradition with players such as Dax Milne putting together a career that turned him into an NFL draft pick this past April.

Kalani Sitake on @BYUfootball walk-ons:

"They’re always going to have a special part in my heart when it comes to this football program."#BYU #BYUFootball @kslsports

➡️: https://t.co/AI9CN5XxLk pic.twitter.com/aI33q0fZn4

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) August 12, 2021

Sitake loves what walk-ons mean to his BYU program. When asked by KSL Sports which players were elevated from walk-on status to scholarship athlete over the off-season, Sitake replied, “You want to get an honest answer? I wish all of them were on scholarship.”

Sitake continued, “I have this love for walk-ons because they sacrifice the most, and they’re willing to pay for it; in so many different ways and definitely out of their pockets. So they’re always going to have a special part in my heart when it comes to this football program.

“And I’m glad that they can be elevated and have opportunities. We’re limited in the number of scholarships, but they can participate and feel ownership of this team as well, even though they’re a walk-on.”

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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