Not Easy for an Ohio State Fan to Say: How About Those Michigan Apples?!
December 7, 2021 The phrase “follow the money” typically carries a negative connotation. So, too, does the phrase “Michigan Wolverines.” But that’s coming from someone born and raised in Ohio. It’s how we roll against “That Team Up North.”
Still, I’m here to praise the University of Michigan, which, in-between me writing this and you reading this, will have hosted the Ohio State Buckeye football team on Nov. 27 in “The Big House.” I’m also here to try to shine a positive light on following the money.
Peter Simmons III plays offensive line for the Wolverines. As a freshman student-athlete, he ordinarily would be spending this season and the following three or four campaigns with no right to receive payment for his public likeness. That’s how the NCAA and its definition of amateurism have always rolled. Until this year.
On July 1, thanks to a mixture of new state laws and NCAA rule changes, college athletes could begin making money by selling their name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights.
Is this a good thing? Time will tell. Ohio State has a freshman quarterback who skipped his entire senior year of high school to sign a $1.4 million deal with GT Sports Marketing. Would I do that? Would you?
Simmons, having already graduated this spring from Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, FL, didn’t have to worry about missing senior prom when he signed his NIL contract in October. In fact, his deal seems as wholesome as, well, apple pie.
In what is believed to be the first NIL deal involving a fresh-produce company, Simmons, who was born in Ann Arbor, joined forces with The Apple Truck, a Michigan-based “rolling” fruit truck that delivers fresh Michigan apples to Southern states with limited or no access to the fruit.
“Because he was raised in Michigan and moved away from the state, Peter represents our target customers: those who understand the taste and quality difference of a freshly picked, crisp Michigan apple,” Trip Apley, co-founder of The Apple Truck, says. “Our team at The Apple Truck … is proud to have him representing our company.”
“This is such an exciting time for college athletes,” Simmons says, “and I am honored to represent The Apple Truck during my college football career at Michigan. I think it is great that the NCAA now allows college athletes to be rewarded and compensated for their name and likeness. It is very exciting to have our hard work and dedication over the years recognized.
“As the fourth-consecutive generation to attend the University of Michigan, and having my great grandfather being part of the team that dug the hole for The Big House in the 1920s, this truly is a dream come true.”
Well said, young man. American Fruit Grower® magazine wishes you the best as an athlete, student, and newfound representative of the fruit industry.
P.S. Go Bucks!
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