KU Jayhawks athletes to be featured in KC’s NASCAR race thanks to new NIL partnership

Eleven University of Kansas athletes will have their image featured on a NASCAR body thanks to a new name, image and likeness partnership announced Thursday.

KU’s Mass St. Collective is collaborating with BeONE Sports — the developers of a training app that can record athletes’ movements and offer feedback in real time — and racing organization JD Motorsports. BeONE Sports and the KU athletes will be promoted on JD Motorsports’ No. 6 Chevrolet Camaro, driven by Brennan Poole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

The news release announcing the deal didn’t specify which Jayhawks student-athletes would be featured on the No. 6 car, but men’s basketball guard Dajuan Harris, football running back Devin Neal and volleyball outside hitter Caroline Bien were shown in included concept art.

“Our goal at Mass St. Collective is to find new and unique instances where we can grow the brand of our KU student-athletes in new and meaningful ways through name, image and likeness,” Mass St. Collective president Dan Beckler said in the release.

“To partner with BeONE Sports and have 11 Jayhawks on a NASCAR is something that has never been done before, and it’s an exciting way to bring NIL and college athletes to the racing industry. Brand loyalty is the best among NASCAR fans, and we hope this car only adds to that.”

According to the release, BeONE Sports will be on site in Kansas from Sept. 7-9. They’ll be kicking off a partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 7, working with KU athletes on campus in Lawrence on Sept. 8 and finally debuting the KU car in the Kansas Lottery 300 on Sept. 9 at Kansas Speedway.

“We believe athletes are everywhere, and we are very excited to bring new and interesting NIL opportunities to student-athletes,” BeONE Sports founder and CEO Scott Deans said in the release. “The KU NIL NASCAR is a great example of collaboration and driving innovation … literally.”