Blog

Aug 31, 2023

J.J. McCarthy inks NIL deal with prominent tech company

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy features prominently in a new advertising campaign for Beats by Dre, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., as part of a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy features prominently in a new advertising campaign for Beats by Dre, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., as part of a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal.

McCarthy is part of the inaugural 15-member “Beats Elite” class featuring college football players who are “bringing elite energy all season long.” Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Texas signal-caller Quinn Ewers and former Wolverine Joe Milton are among the others in the group.

“As we’ve worked with our initial college athletes, we’ve realized how important it is for them to have brand support at that level,” Aminah Charles, Beats’ head of sports marketing, said in a statement. “The industry is moving toward truly empowering college athletes, so we wanted to take a bigger swing in this area.”

According to Bloomberg, this represents Apple's largest investment in NIL deals for college athletes, but specific financial terms have not been made public.

Beats by Dre launched the advertising campaign this week with a video set to “Blood Moon” by Mike Will Made It and Lil Uzi Vert:

McCarthy, who won the Michigan starting quarterback job early in the 2022 season, will lead a Wolverines team with Big Ten and national championship expectations this fall.

“I’m always a person that strives for the path of most resistance, but it’s been the most fun in my entire life playing football right now,” McCarthy said earlier this month. “Everything’s just clear: Everyone knows what's going on and things are effortless right now with the defense and with the chemistry of the guys. Like I said, defense: I've been reading that defense for two, three years now, so it's so much fun out there going against those guys. It’s just been so much fun.”

The rising junior has also made a habit of doing good with the money he earns from NIL deals. Last winter, the sophomore QB said he donated “NIL funds to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital of Ann Arbor & Lurie’s Children Hospital of Chicago.” Per McCarthy, 100% of proceeds from his “smiley face” branded items get distributed to JJ For the Kids, which in turn is donated to “children’s hospitals and programs in need throughout the country/world.”

Similar to his efforts during the 2021 season, last fall McCarthy donated funds to hospitals in cities where the Wolverines played on the road.

Those include the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, the Riley Hospital for Children (Indiana), the Children’s Hospital at St. Peter’s University (Rutgers), the Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Ohio State), the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital (Big Ten Championship) and the Phoenix Children’s Hospital (Fiesta Bowl).

Additional beneficiaries included the Oxford Strong Fund and the Chad Tough Foundation in Michigan, among several others.

McCarthy says his foundation has distributed more than $30,000 since 2021 with “more to come.”

The Wolverines begin the 2023 season against East Carolina at the Big House on Sept. 2.