Repping your favorite Jacks athlete just got a lot easier. Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics announced a partnership with Influxer, an online apparel store that works with over 300 universities across the country.
Where Influxer differs from other apparel companies found in campus bookstores across the country is that they partner with student-athletes and create personalized merchandise that offers students royalties on the sale of their items. Any ‘Jacks athlete can now create a page on the Influxer site and then sell personalized, officially licensed merchandise for fans and family.
Now, the next time you’re watching your favorite sports team, the Jacks, and witness a particularly inspiring performance by a student-athlete, you now have the opportunity to give back and purchase items from the player’s collection, with a portion of your payment going directly to the athlete via royalties. Humboldt’s social media page, Influxer, states that student-athletes earn 60% of the profits from the sale of player merchandise.
“Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics is creating NIL opportunities for our student-athletes and we found a great fit in partnering with Influxer,” said Dr. Nick Pettit, executive director of Intercollegiate Athletics, in Tuesday’s press release. “This partnership checks a lot of boxes for us to provide our fans, alumni and families with the opportunity to purchase personalized and officially licensed gear to support their favorite lumberjack regardless of their sport. This is our first step in helping our student-athletes promote their brands in the NIL landscape and we are very excited to get started.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, just hours after publication, the Influxer store is void of Cal Poly Humboldt student-athlete merchandise. Influxer says the items will be available online within 24 hours of student-athletes registering, so the Jacks’ apparel could be available in their online store as early as Wednesday.
Influxer merchandise includes personalized t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, hoodies, coasters, pendants and necklaces, stainless steel drinking cups and jerseys. The jerseys will not be the authentic Nike jerseys the ‘Jacks wear when they appear, but the Influxer-branded jerseys capture the essence of the team.
While there is no guarantee that Cal Poly Humboldt items will be the same price, all items on the company’s website, regardless of school, are sold for the same price: jerseys are $110 on the website, pendants and necklaces are $149.99, sweatshirts are $63, t-shirts are $39, long-sleeved shirts are $47, and a set of four coasters is $30.
It wasn’t until 2021 that student-athletes began to benefit financially and be compensated for their name, image and likeness (NIL). Although NIL laws vary from state to state and have additional restrictions for international students on F-1 visas, Influxer is available to all student-athletes regardless of nationality.
“Influxer is excited about this partnership with the Lumberjacks, which brings a great NIL opportunity that benefits everyone,” said Influxer’s Keith Miller in the press release. “Dr. Pettit and the administration have been extremely diligent, not only in emphasizing the end product of this opportunity, but also in recognizing the business experience that comes with the process for developing student-athletes.”
