DES MOINES, Iowa — It all began with a simple photo capturing Iowa State football players Tommy Hamann and Caleb Bacon standing next to each other during a game earlier this season.
It started to make the rounds on social media and got the attention of the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA).
"As soon as I saw it, I messaged Joyce, our promotions person, and Monday morning I was [in] her office and we just got the ball rolling with it," said Kevin Hall, IPPA communications director. "We looked through the roster and not only was there a Hamann and a Bacon, there was also a Purchase and a Moore. So, 'Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon' could not be more perfect to promote the pork industry."
IPPA partnered with the players for a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal, and the campaign went viral on social media.
"Honestly, I thought it had potential, but I didn't think it would go like the way that it did," said Iowa State defensive back Myles Purchase. "Like honestly, it was crazy. A couple million interactions or whatever, I definitely didn't think it would get that big."
A component of the deal that may be less known is the $10,000 worth of pork donations the Iowa Pork Producers Association made to food pantries of the players choice.
"Food insecurity is a big problem right now all over the country," Hall said. "It's happening here in Iowa. So, this is a just a small way that Iowa Pork Producers can give back to the community and we did the donations in the players' names."
Caleb Bacon, who's a Lake Mills native, chose to have his donation go to the Lake Mills Food Shelf.
"I actually went back there on my bye week and talked to some of the people who run the food bank and was able to do kind of a little presentation of the food coupons and the money for them," Bacon said. "Just seeing kind of the joy that brought people in my community and them was really cool."
The DMARC food pantry in Des Moines was also a recipient of a donation, chosen by Des Moines native Tyler Moore. Just last month, they served 23,784 people in the metro.
"This donation is coming at what could've been no better time for us knowing that these past few months have been incredibly busy," said DMARC Marketing and Communications Manager Blake Willadsen. "The more we can get for food donations, the more we can unite to meet the need, those are going to be huge opportunities to help more folks."
NIL deals are often associated with big figure deals and brands, but there's more to it than that.
It's also an opportunity for the players to have some fun and make a positive impact in their communities.