WHITTIER, Calif. (Sept. 24, 2021) – The Whittier College football team recently became the first Division III program to complete a team-wide Name, Image and Likeness Deal.

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Head Coach Mike Neale and the Poets reached an agreement with former NFL placekicker and restaurant owner Tony Zendejas, where the team and players will exchange social media promotion for complimentary meals and catered food before games. Zendejas, who spent 11 years in the National Football League with notable stints playing for the Houston Oilers and Los Angeles Rams, is the owner of Zendejas Mexican Restaurant in San Dimas, Calif., which is notable for serving standard casual Mexican fare amid a sports bar setting with live music & happy hour.

As a result of the agreement, the players will be receiving 100 percent of the benefits with no strings attached. The news has been received with overwheming positivity, with combined Twitter clicks through a number of sources reaching a combined 1.3 million.

The concept of Name, Image and Likeness deals is a new phenoma in college sports. A mixture of new state laws and NCAA rules changes that went into effect on July 1 have provided athletes with varying degrees of new protections and opportunities to make money by selling their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. The new set of standards have opened the floodgates for college athletes across the nation to monteize their talents like never before. As the Whittier football team has shown though, NIL deals do not have to be exclusive to Division I athletes. Now, the Poets can take the field on Saturdays knowing they will be well fed by Zendejas Mexican Restaurant.

Neale and the Poets will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 25 when they rematch SCIAC foe Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Claremont at 7 p.m.

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