Joe Milton III

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As NIL deals go, this one is sweet milk money. Ahead of Saturday’s Neyland Stadium showdown between No. 21 Tennessee and top-ranked Georgia, Vols quarterback Joe Milton and Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey teamed up for a series of “Milk Bowl” commercials for The Dairy Alliance, a nonprofit organization funded by dairy farmers in Tennessee and Georgia. The campaign was put together by Everett Sports Management.

The videos, promoting sports nutrition and milk education, are both hilarious and hokey. A milkvsmilk.com campaign runs through Dec. 3, and fans can vote for their favorite on Instagram for Team Milton’s #MilkBowlStrength or Team McConkey’s #MilkBowlHydration.

But as Pete Nakos of On3 reports, the funnier video features the two players sitting in ice tubs trading barbs about the benefits of drinking milk. It ends with Milton pulling a jug of milk out of the ice tub and saying “game on.”

Hunter Baddour, co-founder and president of Knoxville-based Spyre Sports Group, which operates Tennessee’s NIL collective and The Volunteer Club, says it will indeed be “game on” when Georgia marches into Neyland Stadium.

“We’re planning for a massive tailgate for the Georgia game. All of our members will be invited. We may have 2,000 people come through there. There’s going to be a lot of former players there, as well,” Baddour says.

Massive is a good way to describe Spyre’s NIL approach. In an analysis of the nation’s top 20 collectives by On3.com, Spyre Sports Group was ranked No. 1, based on a reported $8 million deal with current freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

In a 2022 article in The Athletic about Spyre’s fundraising efforts, Baddour was quoted as saying:

“If you would have asked us four to five months ago, we might have said we want to try and raise $3 (million), $4 (million), $5 million annually. Now, the goal is $25 million annually. Or more. And we think that goal is absolutely attainable. We’ll have to work hard, which we will. If this is how the game is played, then game on.”

Baddour wouldn’t confirm those numbers, saying he didn’t want competitors to know what they’re doing.

“We have been blessed that we have had tremendous support from the athletic department, and that’s not the case at a lot of places because you can find yourself in a situation where collectives are competing for dollars with the athletic arm of the schools, and we don’t have that problem here,” he says.

“We have tremendous support from our fans. We have tremendous support from our donors and from President (Randy) Boyd (and) Chancellor (Donde) Plowman. (Athletics director) Danny White just been phenomenal. And all those things coming together has put us in what I feel like is a competitive advantage.”

Hunter says NIL deals are a win-win for athletes and the business community. For example, just before the season, Milton promoted on Instagram his NIL deal with a McDonald’s franchisee that got a lot of attention. The $7 “Milton Meal” included a Big Mac, medium fries, a large sweet tea and sweet-and-sour sauce.

“We’re now in Year Three of NIL and, in Years One and Two, I think businesses were not really sure what was allowed in terms of working with student-athletes. It was just all so brand-new. But now, going into Year Three, I think businesses are not only more comfortable working with student-athletes, they want to get involved,” Baddour says.

“They see a potential for a return on their investment, but they also realize that they’re helping our player. Joe Milton has been a tremendous brand ambassador for Tennessee. He’s done everything the right way. He’s been a leader and it’s great to see that he’s getting some of these opportunities, what I would call traditional marketing deals.”

Thinking outside of the box seems to be a given for a $1.2 billion industry in just a three-year span. North Carolina’s collective, for example, hosted a NIL fundraising concert over the summer with country music star Eric Church.

“Collectives are always trying to find ways to generate extra revenue. The model of just going to the same three, four or five individuals to give the majority of the funding for this, that’s not sustainable,” Baddour says.

“Donor fatigue can be a real thing and so we’re constantly looking for ways – whether it’s business memberships, whether it’s growing our Volunteer Club which we have close to 4,000 members that are contributing anywhere from $5 a month to $500 a month – I think you always need to be creative, whether it’s concerts, or really anything, to find new revenue streams.”

Another collective that works with Tennessee athletes is The Players’ Lounge, the brainchild of former Vols Joshua Dobbs and Thomas Edwards. Dobbs, the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, said in August that he’s excited to support both fans and the next generation of Vol football players.

“The Players’ Lounge and University of Tennessee partnership will have a lasting impact on Volunteer athletes,” Dobbs says. “Channeling the power of the Volunteer fan base, athletes can work with The Players’ Lounge to establish themselves as valued members of their university community, develop important business skills, and create valuable connections that can benefit them in their future careers.”