Story Poster
Photo by California Legends Collective
Cal Basketball

California Legends NIL Collective Launched

August 22, 2022
23,000

BERKELEY, CA / August 23, 2022 -- The California Legends Collective announces the launch of CAlegends.com, a NIL platform that empowers UC Berkeley student-athletes to secure name, image, and likeness income opportunities. This platform, created in partnership with Beastmode Marketing, will allow Cal fans, alums, supporters, and brands to peruse its site loaded exclusively with Cal athletes to book players and teams for various services. Utilizing proprietary PlayBooked technology, the fully customized and secure online platform also allows the California Legends Collective to manage all aspects of its collective needs in one place.

"We've been working hard to create something we could all be proud of," said Kevin Kennedy, president, founding sponsor, and co-executive director of the California Legends Collective. "It was important to us that this be done the Cal way—in full compliance with NCAA regulations and empowering all our student-athletes to take full advantage of the vast opportunities presented by attending the world's No. 1 ranked university. We decided the best university in the world deserved the best Collective, and that's what we've created."

By partnering with Beastmode Marketing, the California Legends Collective has engaged with former Cal running back, NFL star turned entrepreneur Marshawn Lynch. Marshawn Lynch stated, "I'm always open to finding ways to help current and future Bears, and this is a really special opportunity that I had to push play on. This partnership is gonna be hella fun, and it's not just about NIL money. Our focus is also on education and sharing our experiences to help Cal athletes with financial literacy, staying healthy, brand building, being a pro, and staying connected with your community."

Kevin Kennedy said, "To have this kind of exclusive connection to a Cal legend and one who is currently running a major sports and lifestyle brand, and marketing company is amazing and something no other school will be able to replicate. And Marshawn's industry-leading role in ensuring athletes make smart investment decisions and maximize their personal brands makes him an ideal person to spearhead our efforts. We are so grateful to have him as our partner."

But Marshawn Lynch isn't the only Cal great involved with the California Legends Collective. The Collective's founding advisory board members include football star DeSean Jackson; LayshiaClarendon, a WNBA all-star and Cal's 4th all-time leading scorer; and Val Arioto, Cal's greatest women's softball player ever. "They are all true legends, and we are so fortunate to have them," said Stephanie Rivera, co-executive director and one of the Collective's founding sponsors. "There isn't a Cal fan, or an NFL fan, who doesn't know who DeSean Jackson is and doesn't remember his play for Cal. So to have his involvement and his unique tie-in to the Southern California football community is incredible."

Using CAlegends.com, fans can purchase California Legends Collective merchandise, book a live chat or video shout-out with a student-athlete, subscribe to support various teams, or make financial contributions. The site also empowers businesses and charities that want to hire a Cal student-athlete or marketing campaigns or to promote an event can now easily do so. "We wanted to create maximum flexibility for our student-athletes and fans," said Kevin Kennedy. "Fans can go onto CAlegends.com and choose which Cal team, position group, or individual player they want to support financially. They can do this in various ways, by subscribing to that team, group, or player at various dollar levels and receiving unique benefits depending on the subscription amount. Do you want to attend a Cal football game with Marshawn Lynch? Well, we can make that happen for you. Fans just log on and select how they want to participate."

The California Legends Collective's mission is always to place the student-athlete interests first.Stephanie Rivera stated, "My husband Ron and I were both student-athletes at Cal, so we know what a platform like this will mean for the students. Being a student-athlete at a school like Cal is itself a full-time job. These students don't have the time to hold part-time jobs, and with the new NIL regulations, they can now realize the full benefits of their association with Cal. It was essential for our collective to allow all of Cal's student-athletes, no matter their sport, to have these opportunities. At Cal, inclusivity and diversity are some of our core values, and we wanted our Collective to reflect that."

About the California Legends Collective
Founded by a dedicated group of UC Berkeley alumni and fans, the California Legends Collective isan independent NIL collective. The CAlegends.com digital platform connects fans, supporters, businesses, and charitable organizations with the University of California student-athletes while empowering each athlete to monetize their name, image, and likeness. We are not formally associated with or sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley. To learn more, go to CAlegends.com.

About Beastmode Marketing
Beastmode Marketing, based in Oakland, CA, is a marketing management agency founded by Marshawn Lynch, Bryon Sheng, and Kevin Parker. Beast Mode Marketing currently represents the marketing efforts for Lynch, Josh Johnson, Marcus Peters, and Najee Harris. Beast Mode is rooted in building brands through authenticity and creativity at the direction of its athletes. For more information, please visit BeastModeMktg.com or follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @BeastModeMktg.

Discussion from...

California Legends NIL Collective Launched

14,954 Views | 28 Replies | Last: 6 mo ago by Tyler Bridges
wifeisafurd
How long do you want to ignore this user?
If Cal can't compete with some level of NIL, football recruiting will continue to take a nose dive. It is now on the Cal fan base to show-up or shut-up. .The vehicle is there for Cal to compete in the NIL world, and that vehicle awards those that fund NIL with benefits. If you want to assist, please contact Sebasterrbear
Sebastabear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
A real chance for Cal fans to participate and make a meaningful difference for our team. I think we've created something of which all Cal fans can be proud.
smh
How long do you want to ignore this user?
> But Marshawn Lynch isn't the only Cal great involved with the California Legends Collective.
The Collective's founding advisory board members include football star DeSean Jackson; Layshia
Clarendon, a WNBA all-star and Cal's 4th all-time leading scorer; and Val Arioto, Cal's greatest
women's softball player ever. "They are all true legends, and we are so fortunate to have them," said Stephanie Rivera, co-executive director and one of the Collective's founding sponsors.

Stephanie was a Cal Basketball walk-on, and is the longtime spouse of old blue gridder Ron.

bearsandgiants
How long do you want to ignore this user?
This is great. Please buy the callegends.com url and redirect it to calegends before someone else does, though. It looks like it's still available, and when you call it cal legends, but the website is ca legends, you get folks remembering the name and trying to access the site from memory and phonetics, and the put the second "l" in there, impulsively
wifeisafurd
How long do you want to ignore this user?
smh said:

> But Marshawn Lynch isn't the only Cal great involved with the California Legends Collective.
The Collective's founding advisory board members include football star DeSean Jackson; Layshia
Clarendon, a WNBA all-star and Cal's 4th all-time leading scorer; and Val Arioto, Cal's greatest
women's softball player ever. "They are all true legends, and we are so fortunate to have them," said [Ron's spouse] Stephanie Rivera, co-executive director and one of the Collective's founding sponsors.
The collective clearly is more than football, and it was not my intent to exclude other sports,. My focus was on football because football is the main revenue diver for the sports program and has suffered major de-commits recently due to the lack of NIL. This is the cure to that problem IMO. But NIL will matter for top players in other sports.
bipolarbear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
What about Cal legends Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff, Keenan Allen, Jason Kidd, etc. are they going to be involved in any way?
ferCALgm2
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I'm so stinking thrilled. The Bear will not quit, the Bear will not die.

Thanks to everyone who helped in this!

I love Cal Football. I've seen Cal Football be great and I know it can be great again. As a fan, it's time to put up or shut up
Sebastabear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
bipolarbear said:

What about Cal legends Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff, Keenan Allen, Jason Kidd, etc. are they going to be involved in any way?
I think they will all be involved. Look for some retweets coming out shortly from our many legends. In terms of adding them all to the advisory board, we wanted to cap out at two players per sport just to not make this overweighted for any one area ( but look if Aaron or Jared or Cam or Keenan wants in I sure as heck am not saying no).

We aren't done adding advisors and will hopefully have more soon.
FireFighterBest
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Really well done. The platform is solid. We should all support the amazing student-athletes at Cal. I could not have pulled off the academics and athletic commitment required. Hopefully, the Golden Bear community will step up big time.
BearGreg
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Staff
I want everyone to realize the incredible investment that's been made here by Sebastabear. Beyond the huge number of hours, his infinite patience, ability to mediate between a variety of constituencies, and his rational decision-making were absolutely essential in making this happen. And to top that off, he will be one of the largest donors to the collective as well.

Tip of the old Beer Keg to Sebastabear.
JB was a Chieftain
How long do you want to ignore this user?
In the famous words of Marshawn Lynch.....

"Take care your chickens, take care your mentals"
Sebastabear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
BearGreg said:

I want everyone to realize the incredible investment that's been made here by Sebastabear. Beyond the huge number of hours, his infinite patience, ability to mediate between a variety of constituencies, and his rational decision-making were absolutely essential in making this happen. And to top that off, he will be one of the largest donors to the collective as well.

Tip of the old Beer Keg to Sebastabear.
You are too kind Greg. But to return the compliment, folks should know that Greg was one of the first (maybe the first after me?) and largest individual donors to the collective. But even more importantly he reached out to his entire network and his leads led to most of our seed investors. So back at ya big guy. I know running this site can seem thankless (and it's certainly not making you rich - especially considering you are donating all the proceeds back to Cal) but you are making more of a difference than the rest of us combined. So thank you!
bearsandgiants
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Thank you guys, for doing this. Already bought my first "shout out." Prices seem a bit low, tbh. I'm sure there will be an adjustment period. As far as subscriptions, though, wish there were an option for $50/month and $25/month. 100 is a pretty high entry point for most people. I think quite a few would sign up for 25/month if you get a tee shirt after 6 months, and a hat after 12, and keep changing the hats/tees every year.
Bear8995
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Just a thought, but it would be great if you could make the web site link clickable (underlined, in a different color). I was looking for a place where I could click straight from the article to donate and realized there wasn't one.

Now I'm off to donate. Thank you to everyone involved and for all you do.
Unit2Sucks
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Oh snap, I used to work with Kevin Kennedy. Didn't realize he was a big Cal guy.

Also, this is super cool. Go Bears!
Sebastabear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
bearsandgiants said:

Thank you guys, for doing this. Already bought my first "shout out." Prices seem a bit low, tbh. I'm sure there will be an adjustment period. As far as subscriptions, though, wish there were an option for $50/month and $25/month. 100 is a pretty high entry point for most people. I think quite a few would sign up for 25/month if you get a tee shirt after 6 months, and a hat after 12, and keep changing the hats/tees every year.
Students are setting the prices on their shout outs, but yeah I expect these will change over time.

In terms of the subscription amounts for football (other sports do have those lower numbers) we wrestled with this a bit. Where we finally landed was that the logistics of having a subscription fulfillment for $25/month was just daunting on a cost/benefit analysis. We're hopeful that anyone for whom $100/month is too much of an ask will just make a donation for whatever amount they are comfortable with. All contributions welcome!
Sebastabear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
bearsandgiants said:

This is great. Please buy the callegends.com url and redirect it to calegends before someone else does, though. It looks like it's still available, and when you call it cal legends, but the website is ca legends, you get folks remembering the name and trying to access the site from memory and phonetics, and the put the second "l" in there, impulsively
This has been done. Thanks so much for the suggestion!
Pittstop
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I actually did that. Added the second 'L'.
Sebastabear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Pittstop said:

I actually did that. Added the second 'L'.
Cal had some issues with us using the word "Cal" since that's a trademark. I have some feelings about that position which I will not express. But that's why we went with CAlegends.com. But should have thought about the redirect. Anyway, all set now.
MoragaBear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Staff
Bear8995 said:

Just a thought, but it would be great if you could make the web site link clickable (underlined, in a different color). I was looking for a place where I could click straight from the article to donate and realized there wasn't one.

Now I'm off to donate. Thank you to everyone involved and for all you do.
Done
76BearsFly
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Thanks to Sabatabear and Beargreg for all their service to the Bears community. Top marks indeed!!
dimitrig
How long do you want to ignore this user?

Marshawn Lynch stated:

"I'm always open to finding ways to help current and future Bears, and this is a really special opportunity that I had to push play on. This partnership is gonna be hella fun, and it's not just about NIL money. Our focus is also on education and sharing our experiences to help Cal athletes with financial literacy, staying healthy, brand building, being a pro, and staying connected with your community."

I am so proud of this guy!

Econ141
How long do you want to ignore this user?
dimitrig said:


Marshawn Lynch stated:

"I'm always open to finding ways to help current and future Bears, and this is a really special opportunity that I had to push play on. This partnership is gonna be hella fun, and it's not just about NIL money. Our focus is also on education and sharing our experiences to help Cal athletes with financial literacy, staying healthy, brand building, being a pro, and staying connected with your community."

I am so proud of this guy!




This is awesome.
HoopDreams
How long do you want to ignore this user?

Sebastabear
How long do you want to ignore this user?
So we just launched a new store (includes player trading cards on it) and some new limited edition gear. Only available until 12/1 so check it out.



https://beastquakeonline.com/

BearHunter
How long do you want to ignore this user?
bipolarbear said:

What about Cal legends Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff, Keenan Allen, Jason Kidd, etc. are they going to be involved in any way?
DiabloWags
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Might want to read today's WSJ about the IRS no longer recognizing student/athletes as a charitable purpose.

Looks like the IRS will be denying many collectives' applications for charitable status as well as revoking some prior rulings through audits.

IRS Nixes Tax Edge for College-Sports Booster Groups Paying Athletes - WSJ

IRS says nonprofit NIL collectives giving tax deductions could be illegal - Sports Illustrated



Tyler Bridges
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I'm a proud second generation Stanford grad, and my daughter is a student there now. But I donated $100 yesterday to the Cal Legends fund. I was inspired by a column by Mike Silver in the SF Chronicle and by social media posts by Ron Rivera and his wife Stephanie. I got to know Ron while doing the reporting for my book, Five Laterals and a Trombone: Cal, Stanford and the Wildest Ending in College Football History. Mike was kind enough to write one of the back cover blurbs, and Ron wrote one of the forwards.

I realized while interviewing Ron and dozens of other Cal players and grads that more connects the two schools than divides us. On game day, I root for Stanford every time. But I root for Cal on other days.

I texted Ron yesterday to congratulate him for his generosity for Cal athletics. He responded by saying he's happy that the two universities are remaining close together in the ACC. Me, too.
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.