University of Southern California athletics has entered into a landmark partnership deal with Cookies, one of the most globally recognized brands of cannabis products.
It is believed to be the first official partnership with a cannabis brand in collegiate athletics. Cookies will be affiliated with the Trojans' football team, as well as the men's and women's basketball teams.
It will be integrated on the teams' social media channels, and Cookies promotional items and on-site tailgate experiences will be available at select events throughout the year, Business Wire reported on Sept. 6.
"With the decision to open this category, it was our goal to find the right partner for USC athletics, and we did just that with Cookies," said Drew DeHart, vice president/general manager of USC Sports Properties, according to Business Wire. "We are excited for the Trojans to be a leader in collegiate athletics on and off the field, and today's announcement continues to showcase just that."
USC Sports Properties is a division of Playfly Sports, which holds the multimedia rights to a number of college programs, including Louisiana State, Michigan State, Maryland, and Auburn.
California is among 24 states and the District of Columbia that have legalized marijuana for recreational use and another 14 allow it for medicinal purposes, but it is still considered a Schedule 1 narcotic and illegal by the federal government. Newsmax reached out to the NCAA, the governing body of college sports, for comment on the partnership.
DeHart told the Los Angeles Daily News for a story published Wednesday that no Cookies products will be provided to USC's training staff or players. He said it is a strictly marketing-based partnership, with Cookies branding plastered around the Coliseum football stadium on game days and on social media — and emphasized only as an "official CBD sponsor," with no promotion toward any of Cookies' THC and cannabis products.
"There's probably going to be a lot of folks that disagree with the decision," DeHart said. "But at the end of the day, if we did not push forward, if we did not look to innovate, if we did not look for different revenue streams — eventually, I'd hate to be one of those schools that looks back and goes, How did we get left behind?"
No student-athlete has signed a name, image, and likeness agreement yet with a brand in the CBD category, the Daily News reported.
The NCAA in June took a more moderate stance on marijuana and cannabis products, removing them from its list of banned substances for college football's postseason and all Division I championships. Josh Whitman, chair of the NCAA's Division I Council and the athletic director at the University of Illinois, said in a June 26 news release that marijuana and cannabis products "do not provide a competitive advantage."
Cookies was founded in 2010 by San Francisco rapper Berner, whose real name is Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr. The company has received several healthy valuations in the past few years, ranging from $150 million to upward of $1 billion, BlazeMedia reported Friday.
"Cookies is thrilled to be a sponsor of USC athletics for the upcoming 2024/2025 season," Berner said in a statement to CBS Sports.
"California is our home state and for Cookies to be involved with a premier athletic program, in the oldest private college in the state of California, is incredibly exciting for us. We are honored and excited to be a sponsor and Trojans supporter alongside other globally recognized brands. Fight on!"
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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