This next football season, the Oklahoma State Cowboys are testing a new method for fans to pay players.
OSU revealed this week that this season’s football players will sport 1.5-inch QR codes on the back of their helmets, which will lead supporters to the team’s name, image, and likeness fund.
NIL (name, image, likeness) permits supporters and fans to contribute to a team fund that will benefit each player on the roster even if colleges are not permitted to pay student-athletes directly. Contributions won’t go directly into the bank accounts of the athletes. Rather, they will enter a nonprofit collective known as Pokes With a Purpose (PWAP), which aims to help players take advantage of NIL opportunities.
“This is a revolutionary step forward to help keep Oklahoma State football ahead of the game,” OSU football coach Mike Gundy said this week. “It gives a chance for everyday fans across the world to have a real impact when it comes to supporting the NIL efforts for Cowboy football.”
The team claims that while spectators in the stands won’t be able to scan the codes, those watching on TV can still make a difference. In addition, the team’s equipment truck and Boone Pickens Stadium will bear the QR code. They will also be on show in a few more locations that are open to the public, such as signs throughout the stadium and coasters in the VIP section. They will likely be often shared on the team’s social media accounts.
The NCAA used to impose restrictions on college players’ ability to profit from their name, likeness, and image as the primary collegiate athletics regulating organization. However, things are different now, and OSU’s endeavor is supposedly the first of its sort in college football.
When it comes to collegiate football, Oklahoma State University–Stillwater is represented by the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Competing at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level, the squad is a part of the Big 12 Conference. In his twentieth season as head coach of the Cowboys, Mike Gundy leads the team. The home field for Oklahoma State is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, at Boone Pickens Stadium.
At 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 31, at Boone Pickens Stadium, the OSU Cowboys will play their first game of the 2024 season versus South Dakota State, the reigning FCS national champion.