White Sox Launch NIL Program, CHISOX Athlete

White Sox Launch NIL Program, CHISOX Athlete

The Chicago White Sox are the latest professional sports team to launch a name, image and likeness program. The program, CHISOX Athlete, has already signed eight collegiate athletes, all of whom are from Illinois.

The program was “created to help empower student-athletes, their voices and careers both on and off the field,” the team said in its announcement tweet. The financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

CHISOX Athlete members represent six different universities and four different sports. The initial eight athlete class includes a pair of DePaul basketball players in Anaya Peoples and Ahamad Bynum, Michigan’s A.J. Henning (football) and Cameron Williams (basketball), Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. (basketball), Notre Dame’s Kiki Van Zanten (soccer), Northwestern’s Temi Thomas-Ailara (volleyball) and Iowa’s Kylie Feuerbach (basketball). Per MLB and NCAA guidelines, the team is not allowed to engage with baseball and softball athletes.

The athletes will receive branding opportunities with financial incentives based off of social media promotion, professional resource support from White Sox front office personnel and career mentorship from executives, according to The Athletic. CHISOX Athletes members will also enjoy a pregame experience and afterwards will watch a White Sox game from a private suite with friends and family.

The White Sox join a small list of professional teams that have inked collegiate athletes to NIL deals. First pioneered by the Florida Panthers and its signing of now former Miami quarterback D’Eriq King in Aug. 2021, professional sports teams will likely continue to promote their experiences through student-athletes.

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