LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) – As name image and likeness (NIL) deals continue to generate buzz throughout the NCAA, some New Mexico State University Aggies have jumped in on the action. Sports Accessories, a Las Cruces-based screen printing company, is offering NIL deals to all New Mexico State student athletes.
Sports Accessories has been around since 1993 and the company recently started a NIL program called Pistol Pete’s Posse. Student athletes who join the posse will be able to profit off of shits and hats with their name, number, and sport printed on them.
“With Pistol Pete’s Posse, when you join the posse it doesn’t matter if you’re the best player on the team or somebody that doesn’t have that much notoriety,” said Brian Cox of Sports Accessories. “You are able to get your own shirt, your own swag and promote it yourself.”
Pistol Pete’s Posse is separate from the university, and Sports Accessories does not have conversations with the NMSU athletic department about the program. Instead, student athletes have primarily been the ones reaching out to the company and asking to join.
According to Cox, the model is based on other prominent schools, but the posse likely gives more for their merchandise than bigger schools. When a student signs on, they will agree to terms on how much they will profit.
“This is the wild west with the NIL stuff. No telling where it will go to, we’re just going to have to see where it takes us, but you can see a full product line coming,” Cox said. “From pants, shorts, shirts, hats, jackets, you name it, I think the possibilities are there.”
As for right now, Sports Accessories is only signing NMSU student athletes to NIL deals. However, they are open to the possibility of taking on other universities in the future. To support the student athletes that are on file, products are available on the Sports Accessories website.
