Kentucky freshman offensive lineman could soon find himself joining former Miss Kentucky Maria Montgomery on billboards for Bob Allen Motor Mall.
He’s not going to rush to make any promotional deals but Kentucky offensive lineman Jager Burton thought the timing was right to agree to an endorsement deal with Bob Allen Motor Mall in Danville.
“My mom was buying a car like a day after NIL (name, image, and likeness) started and the folks there said they knew me and would like to do some (TV) commercials and billboards with me,” said Burton.
He’s yet to shoot his first commercial or even have a photoshoot while waiting to make sure everything is approved by UK compliance officials.
“That can kind of be a negotiation process but I have people to do that for me,” he said. “I am still kind of curious about how NIL stuff will turn out. I am not sure how much I want to do. There are a lot of opportunities and I want to see how this one goes before I commit to any more. I am sure I am going to like this one because they are great people at Bob Allen (Motor Mall). I have met them a few times and I definitely know they are big UK fans.”
John Welsh, Bob Allen Motor Mall general manager, said it was a no-brainer for the automobile dealership to sign Burton.
“He’s someone we feel is going to be an important part of Kentucky football going forward and we want to start helping him build his brand and our brand now,” Welsh said.
Burton actually played in the Bob Allen Pigskin Classic in Danville his freshman season at Frederick Douglass High School. Now he’ll soon be featured in Bob Allen Motor Mall TV commercials with Maria Montgomery, a former Miss Kentucky.
“I have never met her but shooting those commercials with her should be fun,” the UK lineman said. “Hopefully we will have a date set soon to start shooting.”
Burton never expected the NIL changes to be implemented while he was still in college to where he could profit from his name like college athletes can now. However, he does not want it to be a distraction from football.
“We had a talk the day before it (NIL) got announced about what we want to do as a team. It was a player-led meeting,” Burton said. “We all decided to keep it out of the (football) facility. Don’t put anything out there that will hurt the team.
“We all want to pursue opportunities and want to make money and support brands we want to use. But we are going to be able to do that because we have a good team and businesses want to use us to market their brands. So we have to make sure our focus stays on football.”
Burton is thankful he’s only a freshman and can take his time easing into NIL possibilities compared to older teammates who may not have but one or two more years in college.
“I know a lot of older guys don’t want to sign a four-month thing (during the season). For a lot of them, this kind of sucks because of the timing,” Burton said. “Some guys are going to do stuff while they can. I am just thankful it can be more of long-term deals with me that can get renewed.”
He plans to keep any promotional deals local and wants to do things with brands he grew up enjoying.
“One brand that would be like a dream for me would be Ale-8-One,” Burton said. “I just know I will be excited to work with local places and brands.”
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Any business interested in working with Burton can message him on Twitter or Instagram. He can also be reached via email at jagerburton@outlook.com.
