On Tuesday, Knights of The Raritan (KTR) announced that every Rutgers football student-athlete and ever basketball student-athlete will receive an NIL deal in 2023. This includes walk-ons as well as both men’s and women’s basketball programs. It’s a landmark commitment that asserts KTR as a leader in the NIL space across the entire college athletics landscape. They are now just one of a few collectives in college athletics to provide deals for every student-athlete within multiple programs.
KTR stated that “unique activations and experiences” will be developed with these student-athletes “both virtually and in-person.”
“The Rutgers University athletics programs and fans are embracing the new and exciting world that is
college sports during the NIL era,” said Jon Newman, President of Knights of the Raritan. “This
announcement puts RU at the forefront of this landscape, and provides partnership opportunities for the athletes involved with the Rutgers football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball teams. We want to
express our gratitude to our members and donors and we’re excited to work with every Scarlet Knights
varsity sport on differentiated deals. This commitment also allows us to expand our member benefits as we enter our first full year of operation.”
This announcement comes as KTR continues its Million Dollar Match campaign that was extended through the end of January. They have raised approximately $350,000 of their $500,000 goal that is being matched by anonymous donors.
KTR has made 60+ deals with Rutgers student-athletes prior to their latest endeavor. They have signed student-athletes from 15 of 24 varsity sports so far. The NIL collective has made it their goal to execute deals with members of every program in 2023.
Per On3NIL, Boilermaker Alliance, the NIL collective for Purdue, is the only other Big Ten collective to have committed to providing deals for student-athletes across multiple programs.
Everything that KTR has done, is doing, and will do this year and beyond, their contributions and efforts towards the long term success of Rutgers Athletics is extremely important. Along with Knight Society, they’ve garnered support from Athletic Director Pat Hobbs and multiple head coaches including Greg Schiano and Steve Pikiell.
“The Knights of The Raritan have been unbelievable. The amount of work that gets done, and this is a labor of love for a lot of many people that are behind that,” Schiano said last week at the press conference announcing Kirk Ciarrocca as offensive coordinator.
Schiano continued, “I know there’s been some matching things going on and a lot of the Rutgers faithful have stepped up in a big way, and we’re grateful. But I’m grateful for the people that run the Knights of The Raritan because that’s their time. They are volunteering their time to help us. I encourage our fans and supporters to step up because it definitely is part of college football now. It’s the way it is, and I know it’s the same in college basketball. Whether you like it or not, there’s a lot of different ways to look at it, really, and I understand everybody’s opinion, but it is what it is. It is the way current college football is, and for us to compete in the Big Ten East, we need to have that support, and I’m grateful for the support that we’ve received.”
Pikiell stated the following in a KTR release last month announcing the matching program.
“The commitment from The Knights of The Raritan and our supporters in New Jersey and
around the world is essential to the continued growth of our men’s basketball program,” Steve
Pikiell, Rutgers men’s basketball head coach said. “Our student-athletes have, and will continue
to represent Rutgers University at the highest level. I’d like to encourage everyone to support our
student-athletes, and with the new match campaign by KTR, you have the opportunity to make a
huge difference in the NIL landscape.”
The importance of the commitment that KTR is making to Rutgers student-athletes cannot be emphasized enough. It will make a serious impact for recruiting with football and both basketball programs. It signals to recruits that NIL opportunities are guaranteed to be available in an organized and dedicated manner. KTR will provide structure in a space that is still being defined on a national level. There is a sense of security for recruits and student-athletes in knowing these NIL opportunities are real and transparent.
As Rutgers has made strides as an athletic department both on and off the field in recent years, having a dedicated NIL collective actively working to support its student-athletes is another vital resource in the current environment within college athletics. In less than one year, KTR has become an established organization not only within the Rutgers landscape, but a major player in the NIL collective space.
To learn more about KTR and how to partner with them in regard to individual and business subscriptions, as well as one-time contributions, click here for more information.
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