The Braves became the first MLB team to partner with college athletes on Monday as they signed NIL deals with University of Georgia gymnast Rachel Baumann and Georgia Tech quarterback Jordan Yates.
Atlanta's partnership with the local athletes comes after the NCAA ended its ban on athletes profiting off their name, image and likeness on July 1. Two dozen states previously passed legislation regarding college athlete compensation, placing pressure on the NCAA to amend its rules.
The Braves announced a contest recruiting college athletes for a potential NIL deal in July. Atlanta announced Monday it received roughly 500 submissions from local athletes before selecting Baumann and Yates as its new team partners.
“We are excited to welcome Rachel and Jordan to the Braves family,” Braves executive Greg Mize said in a statement. “As soon as the new NIL guidelines were set last month, we knew there was an opportunity to highlight the convergence of Braves Country and strong local athletes."
"For our first partnerships, we wanted to focus on schools in our backyard, and the hope is the program will continue to expand to include student-athletes from throughout Braves Country.”
Baumann and Yates will "work closely with the Braves’ social media and marketing team," per a team statement. Atlanta said Monday it plans to pursue further NIL deals with college athletes throughout the southeast.
