James Franklin publicly rallies Penn State football fans to NIL push

The Penn State football team has been trying to close the NIL gap with other major college football programs. With a partnership with Happy Valley United, the Nittany Lions have been able to have alignment on the NIL front lines. In a campaign called Retain The Roar launched with State Media, HVU is looking to raise $500,000 in support of NIL for the football team. Now, head coach James Franklin has joined the front lines in support of this initiative.

James Franklin publicly rallies Penn State football fans to NIL push

Superstar players for the Penn State football team, such as Drew Allar and Nick Singleton, as well as many of the Nittany Lion coaches, were featured in a video on April 18th, when the campaign to Retain The Roar was launched. So far, Happy Valley United and State Media have helped raise over $140,000 for football-related NIL. On Thursday, head coach James Franklin shared a special message with the Penn State community on Twitter/X.

“Penn State family,” Franklin said to begin his speech. “Our goal is to compete for championships while doing it the right way. But, having an elite NIL program is critical to this mission. A strong NIL program is a foundational component of building and maintaining an elite roster of players that will ensure our program is competitive in today’s college football.

“Our staff has done an amazing job of bringing in high-level players that uphold the standard of wearing the Blue and White. Now, we must ensure that we do everything we can to guarantee our roster is the best it possibly can be for this upcoming season. Happy Valley United has launched Retain The Roar a campaign to raise $500,000 for Penn State football NIL.

“Now, we need your help every donation matters. Help us Retain The Roar. I truly appreciate your support and everything our fans do for our program. We Are!”

🚨 PSA from @coachjfranklin

We need your help Nittany Nation!

We are just over 25% of our goal with the Retain The Roar Campaign…

But we need ALL of the Penn State Family to get us across the Finish Line 😤

Let’s show them who #WEARE 🦁

DONATE 👉 https://t.co/c9spxpak4n pic.twitter.com/teZDX3SkNf

— State Media (@StateMediaPSU) May 16, 2024

Several Penn State lettermen join the battle

The effort to Retain The Roar is not just for Penn State fans. It’s a call to action for all Penn State lettermen as well. On Thursday, State Media shared that four lettermen have made their own contributions to the campaign. Donations from former Nittany Lions such as Christian Hackenberg, Adam Breneman, Jason Cabinda, and Brad Bars.

Four Lettermen Have Made Their Contributions to the Retain The Roar Campaign 🦁🔥

▫️ @chackenberg1
▫️ @AdamBreneman81
▫️ @jasoncabinda
▫️ @StarsBARS_31

But we need some more help from our former beloved @PennStateFball guys to hit our goal 🎯

WHO WANTS TO BE NEXT 👀🤔 pic.twitter.com/QfYCLTH6pB

— State Media (@StateMediaPSU) May 16, 2024

This is an opportunity for the Penn State community to join forces and help lead the Nittany Lions to reach their goal of bringing home a national championship. If you’d like to donate, please visit givebutter.com/retaintheroar to help Retain The Roar.

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