BOISE – The award-winning NIL program at Boise State is at it again. And this time the entire football team is set to benefit.
Collectable trading cards featuring all 100-plus members of the Boise State football team will be available beginning Friday at local Jacksons Food Stores. The Broncos are the first school in the country to have the full team represented on trading cards.
“It’s awesome, it’s so cool,” tight end Riley Smith said. “It’s something you dream of growing up. I used to collect them, so it’s awesome. It’s a great opportunity. It’s just really cool. A bunch of the guys are really excited about it. I can’t wait to see them come out. It’s going to be awesome.”
Each pack will contain 14 cards of random players on the Boise State football team, and one out of every 10 packs will include a limited-edition card signed by one of 10 different players including Scott Matlock, JL Skinner, Ezekiel Noa, Riley Smith, John Ojukwu.
Boise State says “the officially licensed, professionally designed, printed and packaged trading cards” will be sold at all 103 Jacksons locations in the Treasure Valley beginning on Friday. The price is $12.99 per pack.
All 100-plus players on the team will receive compensation for use of their name, image and likeness on the cards, regardless of how many packs of cards sell. The 10 players who signed autographed cards will receive additional compensation.
“It’s definitely exciting man,” Noa said. “It’s pretty cool. Obviously everybody knows what trading cards are so to be part of something like that, it’s exciting. … I already told my mom about it and I know she’s excited.”
The announcement is a historic one. With the financial help of Jacksons, the project is the largest trading card venture for any school in the country, and the Broncos are the only school to have every player on the team – even walk-ons – included in the deal and receiving compensation.
Boise State’s in-house group licensing department, also the first of its kind in the country, made it possible for the school to negotiate the deal on behalf of the players.
It’s one of many ‘firsts’ for Boise State. Earlier this summer Riley Smith participated in a marketing campaign for Lithia Ford of Boise in which he wore his jersey and filmed commercials on The Blue. It was the first time in which an athlete received compensation for an NIL deal while also representing the school as part of a joint deal between the three parties.
“It’s always awesome to be some of the first (to do something) and to shock the world with some new innovative stuff,” Smith said. “It’s always cool to see the new opportunities that keep coming our way.”
More than 10,000 packs of cards for the football team will be distributed to the various Jacksons stores around town. Quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who recently transferred from Boise State, will not be included in the packs since production of the cards was done the same day Bachmeier transferred.
Every player on the football team agreed to participate and has a trading card included in the set, according to Boise State.
“A couple of us signed some and got to see them early and they are awesome,” Smith said. “They are really cool. I’d definitely say go get some.”
Boise State is exploring options to create similar trading cards for other sports including the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
