# @_sportscourt on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C7o_SJxs14L
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/20525742-sportscourt-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/76695af74b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-05-31T17:00:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Sports Court (@_sportscourt) — https://gondola.cc/_sportscourt

## Caption

#NIL HAPPENED WAY BACK IN 1997!?!?

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Meet former University of Texas quarterback Marty Cherry.

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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.

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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 Ralph Lauren.

He was then left with a decision to make: Leave football to model for Ralph Lauren, or turn down the offer to stay on the Longhorn football team.

Cherry chose the former, making great money and being featured in national publications such as Sports Illustrated, GQ, and Rolling Stone. (He was even featured on a billboard in Times Square in New York City.)

Props to Cherry for making (cherry) lemonade out of a lemon situation.

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In today’s NIL world, an athlete that would be presented with the same situation would not need to choose school over partnership opportunities (or vice versa).

Therefore, current and prospective college athletes should absolutely take advantage of this current era and leverage their personal brand for NIL purposes (and beyond).

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#nil #nameimagelikeness #marketing #personalbranding #personalbrand #ralphlauren #polo

## Stats

- **Views:** 129
- **Likes:** 17
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 2

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sports Court | @tariqsportscourt | https://gondola.cc/tariqsportscourt | Sports Agency |

## Tags

nameimagelikeness, personalbranding, nil, polo, personalbrand, marketing, ralphlauren

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