Arby's Takes Advantage of NCAA NIL Rules for 'Arby's for RBs' Merch Box

By Brendan Menapace

You can be one of the biggest food chains in the world, but you are not above some clever wordplay. Arby’s, the brand that recently brought us sweatsuits that smell like smoked meat (because they were literally smoked like meat) and french fry-flavored vodka, is now flexing its pun muscles by sending branded merchandise to NCAA running backs.

Get it? Arby’s? RBs? Come on now.

Georgia State running back Tucker Gregg posted a picture of his branded gift, which includes a water bottle, a pair of socks, a shirt with “RBs” over the Arby’s hat logo, and a printed card proclaiming that he’s “an officially sponsored Arby’s RB.” It’s all packaged in a nice branded box, too.

Appreciate it! 🤝 @Arbys #ArbysRBs pic.twitter.com/nfzr17Sim2

— Tucker Gregg (@tgregg_strength) November 2, 2021

This is the kind of thing that wouldn’t have been possible even last year, as NCAA athletes were still forbidden from using their name and likeness to make a profit or accept sponsorship benefits.

So, aside from a very generous branded gift set, what does it mean to be an Arby's sponsored RB? Well, not much. According to the Arby’s website for the campaign, the first 200 D-1 running backs to post “Tonight, I’m getting Arby’s” on Instagram or Twitter will receive $500 and the branded merchandise. The campaign started on Sept. 22, and will run until Dec. 1.

It's sort of like Barstool's program of inviting Division 1 athletes across less-televised sports to become "Barstool Athletes." Once they become a Barstool Athlete, they receive some branded merchandise and have the privilege of boasting their sponsored status on social media.

Arby's obviously goes a step further by literally paying athletes, but it has that same sort of open-call idea, where any Division 1 running back can hit Arby's up for a chance to become sponsored.

This is not only an opportunity for Arby's to show some creativity through homophones, but also a clever way to take advantage of the new NIL laws in college sports and incorporate student-athletes in marketing campaigns.