Ohio State Offensive Linemen, TreVeyon Henderson Sign NIL Deals with Applebee’s, Chipotle

By Dan Hope on September 6, 2022 at 10:10 am
Dawand Jones, Donovan Jackson, Luke Wypler and Matt Jones at Applebee’s
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Ohio State football players have signed NIL deals with two of the nation’s largest restaurant chains.

Left guard Donovan Jackson, center Luke Wypler, right guard Matt Jones and right tackle Dawand Jones have partnered with Applebee’s for an endorsement deal while all five of the Buckeyes’ starting offensive linemen and running back TreVeyon Henderson have signed NIL deals with Chipotle.

Financial terms of the deals have not been disclosed.

Jackson, Wypler, Jones and Jones are being paid by Applebee’s to promote the restaurant’s All You Can Eat Boneless Wings special, which started at Applebee’s last week. All four Buckeyes shared tweets promoting the special on Sunday night, while Applebee’s also sent out a tweet promoting their partnership with the Buckeye blockers.

The offensive linemen expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work with Applebee’s during a promotional photoshoot at a local Applebee’s that Eleven Warriors was invited to attend.

“As someone who's eaten Applebee's for almost my entire life, I knew it was something I had to get on,” Jackson said.

While many of the high-profile endorsement deals for Ohio State football players in the first 14 months of NIL have gone to skill-position stars like Henderson, C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the offensive linemen were appreciative that Applebee’s wanted to work specifically with them.

“I know we're not the sexiest position on the field, but we’re big guys who like to eat, so what a great deal for us to be able to come here and enjoy some great wings with our teammates,” Wypler told Eleven Warriors. “As the year goes on, I'm hoping to be able to focus on football, but these opportunities are great, and I'll jump at every opportunity I have to work with a great company and great organization like Applebee's.”

The Applebee’s deal isn’t the only new NIL deal for those four offensive linemen, though, as they also joined Henderson and left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. in partnering with Chipotle. All six of them participated in filming an advertisement that was narrated by two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin and was shared on social media by the Ohio State athletic department’s official Twitter account.

As a part of Chipotle’s Real Food for Real Athletes campaign, the six Buckeyes shared their go-to Chipotle orders with the public:

TreVeyon Henderson: Burrito with white rice, pinto beans, steak, fresh tomato salsa, cheese, and guac

Donovan Jackson: Burrito with white rice, double chicken, tomatillo-red chili salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and guac

Paris Johnson: Bowl with half white rice, half brown rice, double chicken, fresh tomato salsa, roasted chili-corn salsa, sour cream, and cheese

Dawand Jones: Burrito with white rice, double chicken, tomatillo-red chili salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and guac

Matt Jones: Burrito with white rice, half chicken, half steak, fresh tomato salsa, roasted chili-corn salsa, sour cream, cheese, and lettuce, and a bag of chips with sour cream on the side 

Luke Wypler: Bowl with half white rice, half brown rice, chicken, sour cream, cheese, and lettuce

As for their choice of wings at Applebee’s, Wypler, Matt Jones and Dawand Jones all said their favorite flavor is honey BBQ while Jackson said his favorite is garlic parmesan.

“I hit hard, but these wings hit harder,” said Matt Jones, who told Eleven Warriors he had not received any NIL deals before his deals with Applebee’s and Chipotle.

Henderson and the Buckeye offensive linemen are the first college football players to sign NIL deals with Chipotle.

“With one of our Restaurant Support Centers in Columbus’ Arena District and more than 200 locations in Ohio, we have a lot of Buckeye pride at Chipotle,” Chipotle chief marketing officer Chris Brandt said in a news release.

The Buckeye offensive linemen are the first college athletes to sign NIL deals with Applebee’s this season, though the restaurant chain partnered with Kansas fullback Jared Casey for a commercial last year after he caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the Jayhawks’ upset win over Texas.

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