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Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart became the first college athlete to sign a deal with a private aviation company. Dart signed a historic NIL deal with Nicholas Air, exchanging his name, image and likeness rights for full access to the company's fleet.
Nicholas Air will provide Dart access to its full fleet of private jets, including the Pilatus PC-12, Embraer Phenom 100, Cessna Citation CJ3+, Phenom 300, Citation Latitude, Bombardier Challenger 300/350 and the Gulfstream G600. With this access, Dart can travel with friends and family, for games or training and to support his philanthropic efforts. Dart told Forbes he is proud of his efforts to give back to the community, like the upcoming Stuff-the-Plane event at the Children's of Mississippi Hospital.
"Partnering with Nicholas Air in and of itself is exciting and being able to do it in tandem for events like Stuff-the-Plane is extremely gratifying," Dart told Forbes.
Dart's agent, Jeff Hoffman, told Forbes he expects Dart will be a great partner for Nicholas Air.
"Facilitating the collaboration between Jaxson and Nicholas Air further demonstrates the elite nature of Jaxson as an individual and the power of his brand," Hoffman said to Forbes. "He has the ability to drive tremendous awareness and consideration for a very premium product. A deal of this nature has never been done and we at ESM are incredibly proud to be able to bring them together."
College athletes were not allowed to be paid for their name or likeness until the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics passed regulations to allow NIL compensation for student-athletes in 2020. Dart is now the first college player to make a NIL deal with a private aviation company, Mississippi-based Nicholas Air. Nicholas Air was founded in 1997 and focuses on aircraft management and leasing programs, as well as customizable jet card programs. Dart is returning to play at Ole Miss for his senior year this year, now, with a new partnership. Forbes reported that this is a one-year deal with an opportunity to extend it into the NFL.
"To partner with a remarkable athlete like Jaxson Dart, who shares our values of excellence and community engagement, is truly inspiring," Nicholas Air Founder and CEO Nicholas Correnti said. "We are honored to support Jaxson in his philanthropic endeavors and look forward to making a positive impact together."
While Dart is making headlines for the first NIL deal of its kind, this is not the first time a private aviation company has partnered with a star quarterback. Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, has partnered with private aviation company Airshare since before his first season on the team in 2018. Mahomes and Airshare extended the multi-year marketing partnership in June 2023. MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion Mahomes depends on the convenience of private aviation to manage spending time with his family with a strict offseason training regimen, on top of other charitable work and a growing business portfolio.
"Airshare was one of my first partnerships - they believed in me from the very beginning of my professional career as a starting quarterback," Mahomes said. "We have both experienced a lot of success over the last five years. As my travel needs have evolved, Airshare has always been there for me and my family. Now more than ever, I appreciate how flying private allows me to get the most out of my limited time during the offseason. I'm excited to continue our partnership."
Fox Sports said Dart appeared in six games as a true freshman at USC before transferring to Ole Miss in 2022. As a junior, he completed the 2023 season with career highs in completions, completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns across 13 games. He helped secure the team's first 11-win season in program history and the first New Year's Six bowl win since 2015. Now, Dart is making moves off the field with a major and historic partnership with Nicholas Air.