'Do it for the love, not the likes': Powerade to pay NCAA athletes for ad campaign that rejects woke culture

Powerade recently announced a deal with several NCAA football players for an ad campaign that will involve extra payouts to the young athletes.

The campaign, titled "Commitment Takes More," is a shockingly normal marketing venture that pushes hard work and commitment to sport in order to get more in return.

In recent years, NCAA athletes have certainly received more in return for their names, images, and likenesses as athletic programs worth hundreds of millions have been forced to allow their players to make money off their brands.

'We commit to football and how it takes more than ever.'

Powerade has a relationship with more than 20 college programs across the country, but it selected five football players from different schools for its high-profile ad campaign.

For Florida State defensive end Patrick Payton, this will be his first NIL contract, and he is accepting it humbly.

"I'm just blessed with the opportunity," Payton told the Tallahassee Democrat. "We got it done last week, and I'm excited about the opportunity."

Much like the non-woke, straight forward campaign, Payton provided a refreshing and respectful take on his new opportunity.

"When I was a kid, I watched all the athletes around the world doing commercials, wishing I was that one day," Payton said. "That is an opportunity that I would not take for granted."

Payton, whose NIL valuation is around $450,000 according to website On3, is just one of five NCAA stars who will have one-off contracts with Powerade. The deals will showcase the athletes in national ads as well as short commercials in their local markets. They will also have their likenesses on display in various stores and on social media.

The other players include Georgia quarterback Carson Beck ($1.4M valuation), LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier ($929K), USC wide receiver Zachariah Branch ($387K), and Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson.

Another 35 athletes will promote Powerade in digital advertisements only, Forbes reported. The dollar amounts of the contracts were not disclosed.

'Football gives us more than ever.'

Powerade's national commercial is thankfully void of political statements, gender ideology, or any vague claims of oppression which have sadly become common place in modern marketing campaigns.

Instead, football players are shown training and reciting phrases such as "I commit to do it for the love not the likes."

At the end, around 50 athletes then state the following:

"We commit to football and how it takes more than ever. In return, football gives us more than ever."

This blunt and realistic statement is one of several markers that those involved in college athletics are more than ready to move past what was seen as a dishonest era in football and return to integrity.

For example, Colorado State players Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and Tory Horto both reportedly turned down $600,000 offers to transfer schools, saying they didn't join the program "to make money."

Additionally, NCAA football host Kirk Herbstreit continued the trend of blunt honesty by revealing he is done "biting [his] tongue" on certain issues. He proved this by outright saying he doesn't believe transgender athletes (males) should be playing in women's sports.

With Herbstreit facing no repercussions for his remarks, the push toward transparency and reality seems to be a hot trend in the college ranks, or at the very least, it is a train that is too big to stop.

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