Portland-based Settlemier’s Jackets announced a name, image and likeness deal with West Linn high school basketball star Jackson Shelstad.
The company has been manufacturing letterman varsity jackets out of its Northeast Portland warehouse and storefront for nearly 30 years.
So when the brand designer for Shelstad, who was the 2023 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year and is headed to University of Oregon in the fall to play, walked into their shop, owner Aaron Settlemier said it felt natural to forge an NIL deal with him.
“This designer was like ‘You guys are doing the high school stuff still, and you're doing this and that,’ and he thought of Jackson and thought, ‘Wouldn't it be really cool to get Jackson his letterman jacket through you guys?’ because he recognized our brand level and not only how local we were, but also on a national stage, and it just clicked,” Settlemier said.
NIL deals with high school and college athletes were made possible with an NCAA rule change that allowed nonprofessional athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness took effect on July 1, 2021. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill that same year giving NCAA athletes the right to profit off such deals.
Late last year, the Oregon School Activities Association voted to allow high school athletes the same benefits. That now makes 18 states that allow high school students to sign NIL deals.
Settlemier employs about 25 people and had revenue of about $2 million in 2022. Because of this, they are able to maintain close connections with clients, which is why it was important that its deal with Shelstad wasn’t transactional, Settlemier said.
“We thought ‘What if we brought him in to tell a longer story of not just his high school accomplishments, but where he's going after that and his journey over the course of a year or two, not just a single moment?’” Settlemier said.
For any companies looking to take advantage of the growing NIL landscape, Settlemier thinks this aspect is key.
“There's just an authenticity to the way we're doing it and how our products connect to him, rather than just paying someone a couple hundred bucks to speak a line that people see on Instagram and are like, ‘Oh, he doesn't care about that at all, I can tell,’” Settlemier said.
While there have been logistical steps and conversations between Shelstad’s brand, his agency, Klutch Sports and Settlemier’s, the process has been relatively smooth so far, Settlemier said. It hasn’t been too big of a financial commitment for the company, Settlemier said, but attributed that factor to its focus on authentic products rather than just a business agreement.
It has made two jackets for him so far to commemorate his career at West Linn, Settlemier said, and has plans for jackets in the coming months as Shelstad enters his freshman year at the UO.
“This is what we've been doing for 60 years in my family, which is getting the parents in here with that student and building a one of a kind jacket for them to tell a story, but this NIL partnership really allows us to take it to a whole other level,” Settlemier said.
