Having a pro athlete or college coach as a regular guest on a sports radio station is nothing new. Paying that guest and having the right to secure sponsors is also pretty standard. The station absorbs the extra overhead because it is good programming, gains credibility for the station as a sports leader, and sometimes gets outside publicity for what is said during the interviews. Sponsors like the association with the team, coach, or person and the exclusivity of the sponsorship. Now, we can add college athletes to the mix.
On July 1 of last year, the NCAA allowed athletes to profit from their Name, Image, and Likeness. College athletes across the nation begin signing endorsement deals. New state laws took effect in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Everybody else just followed the loosely formulated NCAA guidelines.
While some terrestrial radio stations jumped into hiring college athletes, a web-based show caught BSM’s attention about one year ago. The Next Round digital show based in Birmingham, Alabama, hired Alabama and Auburn football players to do a weekly interview on their daily 9a-1p show.
The Next Round launched from the former JOX 94.5 morning show, The Roundtable, in Birmingham. Last year the group sponsored then-Auburn quarterback Bo Nix on Mondays and Alabama receiver John Metchie on Thursdays. The schools worked with the show in selecting the best players for the job. Both schools were thrilled with the extra publicity and future recruiting opportunity it provided and trusted the on-air team of Jim Dunaway, Ryan Brown, Lance Taylor, and Sean Heninger.
The sponsorship began with the first game and ended with the last, with a bowl game becoming optional. A sponsor was given exclusivity for both interviews, so they didn’t alienate either Alabama or Auburn fans. The athletes didn’t do voiceovers, and the sponsor received a mention at the open, reset, and close of the interviews.
The content is mainly off-the-field stuff. David Walls, a former Cumulus Market manager, is the Director of Sales for The Next Round. Walls told me that the segment is a winner for all involved with the financial piece in the 3-figure range, per player per week. The talent fee is higher than any endorsement fee generally associated with working with on-air people but is absorbed into the package for the advertiser.
Coordinating the segment is more work because the show must work with the players, agents, and schools. Walls says it is worth it. They have added a University of Alabama Birmingham pair of football-playing twins to the 2022 lineup and one of the best women’s softball players in the country Montana Fouts from Alabama. They will also interview another pair of Alabama and Auburn players. Maybe it’s time to find those sponsors who love the school and match them up with a personable, successful player.
Ring the bell with N.I.L.
Jeff Caves is a sales columnist for BSM working in radio and digital sales for Cumulus Media in Dallas, Texas and Boise, Idaho. He is credited with helping launch, build, and develop Sports Radio The Ticket in Boise, into the market’s top sports radio station. During his 26 year stay at KTIK, Caves hosted drive time, programmed the station, and excelled as a top seller. You can reach him by email at jeffcaves54@gmail.com or find him on LinkedIn.
