White Castle has announced its official sponsorship of “Downs 2 Business,” a podcast focused on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights hosted by sibling football standouts Caleb and Josh Downs. The partnership comes as brands increasingly view NIL-related content as a strategic channel to engage with football fans ahead of the season kickoff.

The video-first series, produced by sports entertainment platform DAZN and its social-first publishing arm Team Whistle, will offer viewers an unfiltered look at athlete life in the NIL era. Caleb Downs, a college football safety for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and his brother Josh Downs, an NFL wide receiver, will explore topics including viral trends, locker-room culture, and brand-building strategies for athletes.

“Partnering with Caleb and Josh on ‘Downs 2 Business’ lets us support athletes who are writing their own rules, while connecting with fans who crave authenticity both on and off the field,” said Jamie Richardson, White Castle’s VP of Marketing and Public Relations.

The series will be available across multiple platforms, including DAZN, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple, with additional promotion through the hosts’ and Team Whistle’s social channels.

White Castle joins other major brands, including DoorDash, Bud Light, and Applebee’s, looking to capitalize on football season enthusiasm. The sponsorship adds geographic relevance as White Castle is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the same city where Caleb Downs plays for Ohio State.

NIL Market Growth and Challenges

According to recent analysis from athlete marketing intelligence platform Out2Win, the college athlete NIL market now exceeds $15 million in tracked spending across major categories, with apparel and fashion leading at $3.33 million across 2,620 sponsored posts.

The White Castle sponsorship arrives during a transitional period for NIL deals. Following the House v. NCAA settlement finalized in June, college athletes now operate under a dual compensation structure where they can receive direct payments from schools (capped at $20.5 million per school for the upcoming academic year) while continuing to secure third-party endorsement deals.

The newly formed College Sports Commission (CSC), tasked with enforcing these regulations, now scrutinizes all NIL deals to ensure they serve a ‘valid business purpose’ and provide compensation within reasonable market ranges. This marks a major shift from the previous four years, when only third-party NIL payments were permitted with minimal oversight.

However, many deals are reportedly stuck in ‘purgatory’ with the CSC, according to Front Office Sports. Athletes are facing weeks-long delays in deal approvals, which could result in lost revenue opportunities due to time-sensitive partnerships.

The CSC reports approving more than 5,100 deals between June 11 and August 20, but approval bottlenecks persist as the three-employee organization (soon to be four) manually reviews every NIL deal over $600 across Division I without use of AI assistance.