Crane’s Micro-Optics Hit a Home Run for College Athletes

The Brandr Group (TBG) – a group licensing agency that helps US college athletes capitalise on name, image, and likeness (NIL) licensing opportunities on branded apparel – has launched a security and identity programme called Licensed Player Product.

The Brandr Group/Octane5 hang tag with Crane micro-optic technology (© The Brandr Group).

TBG has partnered with Octane5 – a team of licensing system and brand compliance experts delivering software and security products – to develop this programme, which includes an Octane5 hang tag sporting Crane Authentication’s micro-optic technology.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s NIL policy allows students to be compensated for the use of their name, image or likeness. This means college athletes can enter into endorsement deals and partnerships with outside companies, in order to make money and start branding themselves, even before their professional career gets going.

Up until July 2021, such compensation was illegal, because college student-athletes were seen as ‘amateur’ athletes. Therefore, cashing in on any sort of compensation for their success was prohibited. However, athletes are now able to engage in NIL deals such as autographs, developing or modelling clothing apparel, promoting products and services, and making personal appearances.

‘The importance of the identification of proper player rights in this new environment is paramount,’ said Riley Haynes, VP of Licensing for The Brandr Group. ‘With so many infringing player designs in the market, this is a strong touch point to players and consumers that this product is officially licensed and therefore players will share in the profits of that product, which we’ve discovered is a big motivator for consumers purchasing NIL products.’ 

‘By connecting the Licensed Player Product hang tag to all Brandr-represented NIL apparel going forward, we can insure athletes are appropriately compensated for their Name, Image and Likeness and consumers and fans will know that they are receiving the quality delivered by official licensees,’ said Riley Haynes.

‘Micro-optic technology is currently used to secure the $100 bill and is now available for securing licensed merchandise,’ said Matt Dunn, co-founder and CTO for Octane5. ‘We’re proud to offer this with The Brandr Group for their represented schools and student athletes.’

The Brandr Group has brought more than 60 licensed collegiate manufacturers to the player product marketplace in support of student-athlete NIL over the past 18 months. This effort in building a network for licensed co-branded collegiate player products, where none existed previously, has resulted in products being featured in all retail distribution channels as well as a notable boom in collegiate jersey sales.

For example, Legends Global Merchandise, TBG and Ohio State Athletics teamed up early on in the NIL era to focus on group licensing via a merchandise programme. Ohio State fans can now purchase jerseys with names and numbers of the current Ohio State Buckeyes American football team, through an official online merchandise platform created by Legends Global Merchandise in collaboration with TBG and OSU Athletics.