Rising Penn State football star becomes NIL brand spokesperson

2024 is a year that will change college football forever — the Playoffs are expanding from four to 12 teams, the Big Ten and SEC are expanding rapidly, the transfer portal rules the offseason, and the world of NIL is dominating the recruiting landscape. The latest Penn State football NIL deal that fans should know about is a mech spokesman deal for rising star linebacker Tony Rojas.

Latest Penn State football NIL news: Tony Rojas becomes brand spokesperson

Tony Rojas was a freshman to watch during the Nittany Lions’ 2023 season as he helped Penn State football to another 10-win season and New Year’s Six bowl game berth. While Abdul Carter is donning the infamous No. 11 right now, it appears that Rojas is next up in the iconic line of top-ranked linebackers to come out of Happy Valley.

At the end of March, a new Penn State football NIL deal was announced for Rojas heading into his sophomore year with the Nittany Lions — he is now a spokesperson for NILBrandedMerch.com. See the brand’s official announcement (via Twitter) below.

We are happy to announce that Tony Rojas has signed to be our NIL MERCH spokesperson! Welcome Tony!

Check out Tony's merch! Shop here! https://t.co/D5NRUKE5Iv

Special thanks to @AurumSports for working with us to make this deal happen! pic.twitter.com/rukjNx6ISm

— NIL Merch (@NilMerch) March 28, 2024

As a true freshman last fall, Rojas saw action in nine of the Nittany Lions’ 13 games, making 18 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, an interception, and more; now, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker is expected to step up into a bigger role both on and off the field as Penn State football chases its first-ever College Football Playoff berth in 2024.

James Franklin: Players learning valuable entrepreneurial lessons

College football is still adapting to the world of NIL, but it’s been a valuable learning experience for many players for life off the gridiron. On Tuesday, James Franklin spoke to the media about the value of NIL within his program, when put in perspective.

“I think all these things are really good opportunities when handled the right way,” Franklin said. “But I also think there’s an important lesson in all of this to still keep the main thing, the main thing. [That is] getting really good grades and playing really good football and putting your team in a position to win. And for them to put themselves in a position to be able to chase their long-term goals both on and off the field. And I know their brand is part of that. But I don’t think any of us came here because of the brand. They came here to get a great education, play big-time football and then be able to have these opportunities.

“It’s pretty cool with what some of these guys are doing, and I think some of the entrepreneurial lessons they’re learning early on, even in some of them that don’t go well. Now that they’re still in college and have resources like professors, our player development staff, and all those things. It’s pretty good.”

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