#NIL HAPPENED WAY BACK IN 1997!?!? —— Meet former University of Texas quarterback Marty Cherry. —— On September 13, 1997, UCLA visited Texas for a football game. The game got ugly quick - and ended up with the Bruins defeating the Longhorns 66-3. Cherry, a third-string quarterback, finished the game 9-18 for 105 yards, three interceptions, and was sacked three times. Ouch. However, a pre-NIL era moment took place in real-time. —— Cherry was shown on the sideline in a dejected manner, as he had taken off his helmet to listen to coaching instructions from Texas head football coach John Mackovic. However, his look caught the eye of an acclaimed fashion photographer, who was watching the game at the time and worked with premium apparel company Ralph Lauren. As this was in the early days of the internet, where people were not easily found, it took the photographer three weeks to eventually locate Cherry and speak to him. Cherry was then presented an opportunity to model for Ra...