Chipotle inks NIL deal with every Florida Gators athlete on campus

Kicked off by an advertisement featuring DJ Lagway and Walter Clayton Jr., Chipotle has announced an NIL partnership with every UF athlete on campus.

Florida athletics will be entering a partnership with Chipotle in a deal with every student-athlete.

The deal gives all student-athletes, both on scholarship and walk-ons, access to free Chipotle during their respective athletic seasons during the 2025-26 athletic season.

The announcement comes a day after Florida quarterback DJ Lagway and former basketball guard Walter Clayton Jr. co-starred in an ad for the food chain.

Ohio State football players Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles and Carnell Tate also filmed a separate commercial for the restaurant. The partnership initially debuted for Ohio State earlier this year but expanded to UF and the University of Georgia.

Athletes at each school will be given customized Chipotle cards that grants them one free entrée per week for 15 weeks of 2025.

“Our restaurants near each of these universities are frequently filled with student athletes looking for a quick and nutritious meal that can help them thrive in the classroom and on the field,” said Chris Brandt, President, Chief Brand Officer at Chipotle in a press release. “By expanding our college card program to three universities this academic year, we’re democratizing NIL for nearly 2,000 student athletes and increasing their access to real food when they need it the most.”

According to the food chain, the three universities are among the top 30 four-year universities that eat the most Chipotle with 94% of UF student athletes considering it to be one of their top three restaurants.

In addition to the partnership, the company’s nonprofit, The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, will provide $100,000 in undergraduate research awards for student conducting research within agricultural farming and food program at the UF College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at aabadie@gannett.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.