UCF QB Dillon Gabriel met with the media on Thursday, July 1 to talk about NIL and his apparel line, "DG The Brand," which will officially debut for online orders July 4 -- https://dgthebrand.com.
We got word Thursday morning we'd have late afternoon availability with Gabriel for the purpose of NIL and promoting his brand, which shows the steps schools are taking to support athletes in this new endeavor.
Schools are not allowed to take an active role in promotion of players' products or endorsements, so I believe UCFAA can only use generic portions of this interview that speak of NIL in broad terms, and not Gabriel specifically talking about his product line. But obviously any other media can use the content as they see fit, so I'm sure we'll see a lot of "DG The Brand" centric clips on the local newscasts this evening.
Here are the highlights from DG's interview:
-DG walked in wearing a branded polo shirt and hat, then began by reading an opening statement. "First and foremost is to be the best teammate to my brothers and represent this university in a positive way when it comes to name, image and likeness," he said.
-He said the brand has been in the works for a while. He likes the fact his brand is "independent," which is also the name of the first drop and why it's happening on Independence Day. "I wanted to be in control. I wanted that creative control and being able to have freedom. It's part of the fun of it."
-He wanted to thank "Coach Gus" and "AD Terry" for educating the team about the NIL process.
-DG was asked whether he could wear DG-branded gear within his football uniform (such as a wristband). DG said there are "rules that still need to be figured out." He'll abide by the rules because his "No. 1 priority is to be the best teammate and represent UCF."
-I asked DG what his "favorite item" was from his first drop. "I love the jersey. My brother created that. I love his design and what he captured. I think it's dope because it's the first one."
-His brother is the creative mastermind behind the brand. There are more "drops" planned (additional merchandise). "I let the DG team take care of this so I can focus on my main passion which is football."
-He is looking at other NIL opportunities, but wanted to emphasize again that football is his priority.
-I asked about summer workouts, and DG talked about how he's grateful to working with his "brothers" this summer because they didn't get that opportunity last summer due to COVID.
-DG said the brand idea was formulated in November during a bye week. They created a logo and built it from there. He said his brother is handling most of the brand matters and Steven Smith, UCF's former Director of Player Development, is handling his business requests. Smith works for Dreamfield, but DG is not affiliated with them.
-DG said today symbolizes "freedom" for student-athletes. "This is something a lot of guys have pushed for and didn't have. I applaud them for making this happen. Being able to be a part of his historic, groundbreaking deal, I'm going to take advantage of it and be happy while doing it."
-DG is "super excited" for the upcoming season. "I've never felt so confident about the group of men we have in that building. Also how cohesive we've been. The way we've all bought in. We've been working so hard. Summer is a grind, but everybody loves it and is pushing each other. That's something with COVID we'll never take for granted. I'm excited. I want to put the work in and let the action do the talking. After fall camp, when we get back to these interviews, I'll be pretty confident about everything we've got going on."
-DG is more than just a brand. "Dedicated to Greatness" is a statement to how he wants to live. It inspires and drives him, something he lives by.
