Ty Robinson, Lincoln company prove NIL deals do still exist

As the legitimacy of NIL deals drops in college sports, we’ve been robbed of the clever partnerships between student-athletes and local businesses.

Agreements like former Nebraska player DeColdest Crawford had with a Lincoln air conditioning company made national headlines in Aug. 2022. The viral clip was a perfect example of what many envisioned when NIL into effect a year earlier.

Since then, the NIL model has largely gravitated toward being a loophole for pay-for-play nationally.

It’s a hot-button issue that has cropped up as conferences conduct media days. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said Tuesday there is a need for “a process to evaluate true NIL deals.”

Those kind of fun, light-hearted NIL deals do still exist, even if you have to look a little harder now. Nebraska’s Ty Robinson and Lincoln company ACTION have a brilliant “Sack Your Old Water Heater” campaign going.

The pitch: If you purchase a Bradford White water heater from ACTION from July to November, the company will reimburse you if Nebraska wins the Big Ten football championship. Talk about NIL gold.

Robinson, with a smile on his face, spoke about the partnership at Big Ten Media Days on a show with Andy Staples of On3.

Nebraska currently has 55/1 odds to lift the conference trophy, per DraftKings. That’s a 1.1% implied probability. So what? It’s fun anyway.