Members of the University of Denver men’s basketball team are more than just Pioneers — which is the nickname for all DU teams.
They’re also pioneers.
The DU hoopsters have earned this title because they are first DU collegiate athletes to join the many college athletes nationwide who are cutting their own deals based on the lifting of Name, Image, Likeness compensation restrictions.
The schools cannot make deals for the athletes. So nationwide, alumni and business people serve on their school’s NIL Collective, which acts as an intermediary to help the athletes make deals. The DU collective did so in the case of Shinesty.
The deal was for just three DU players — Ben Bowen, Tyree Corbett and Tommy Bruner — but Shinesty supplied clothing to all the team members.
“The athletic directors want to be at arm’s length” between athletes and potential sponsors, said Tim Thompson, NIL alumni coordinator for DU athletes. “NILs are being formed all over the country. These committees look for external opportunities for student-athletes.”
Shinesty supplies the clothes and in return, players promote the items via social media, by wearing them around the campus, wearing them before games, etc.
Shinesty’s lines include men’s underwear and holiday-themed pants, as well as “fun and irreverent themed holiday clothing for men and women.” The brand evokes a sense of humor, such as testing boundaries with its Ball Hammock Pouch Underwear, designed to protect men’s nether regions — if you catch our drift.
Another example had a mistletoe in the crotch area. And a third advertisement said, “Get matching underwear that encourages spooning & tends to lead to forking.”
Shinesty is a Colorado company founded by Chris White and Jens Nicolaysen in 2014. It was recently named to Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing companies list for 2022.
Corbett, a graduate transfer student majoring in organizational leadership, said he wears the Shinesty’s underwear underneath protective gear on game days, and wears the company’s shorts around the house, for shoot arounds, walk-abouts and elsewhere.
“I’m just doing it as a fun thing,” said Corbett, who previously attended Coppin State University in Baltimore, MD. “It’s a funny brand and I’m a funny type of guy. I just express myself by wearing mine.”
Bowen is from Highlands Ranch, a freshman guard who graduated from Mountain Vista High School.
“We’re getting free clothes for social media exposure,” he said. “A lot of my friends sent me pictures of the photo shoot that came out on social media.”
He also gets three free meals each week at Saucy Southern BBQ Cuisine, thanks to the NIL program.
Pre-NIL, NCAA athletes were forbidden to profit off their celebrity and fame. But eventually, college athletes pushed the movement that has made it possible for them to make money based on their reputation and willingness to produce money, goods and/or services in exchange for their athletic abilities. Nationwide, many college athletes have earned money — some large sums in certain cases — through their sponsor deals.
“Shinesty thought we’d jump on the NIL train after seeing lots of talented student-athletes partnering with companies for what we thought were, frankly, pretty boring deals,” said Molly Steiner, marketing channel manager for Shinesty. “We worked with another local Colorado student-athlete and saw awesome results.”
Working with the DU men’s basketball team seemed like an exciting and logical next step, Steiner added.
“We love that the players like our product and we want them to tell everyone they know about it,” Steiner said. “On the Shinesty side, it’s amazing getting to work with Colorado student-athletes while getting the word out about our underwear.”
