The NIL (name, image, likeness) wheels are turning at Michigan State University and the nation's leading NIL program is about to get even better. As Spartans Illustrated reported exclusively in June, Michigan State's NIL program was on the cusp of something big.

Now, Spartans Illustrated has confirmed with multiple sources that SD4L (Spartan Dawgs 4 Life) – a clothing brand founded and run by former Michigan State players – will be expanded and announced soon as the official NIL collective for MSU.

SD4L joining This is Sparta! in the NIL collective space not only gives Michigan State the best one-two NIL punch in the country, it means that Spartan fans will now have two different ways to invest funds towards the NIL efforts of the university.

You’ll notice I used the word “invest” and not “donate” because, as of now, any money given towards an NIL collective does not come with official donor benefits at Michigan State University. More about that later.

First, Michigan State sources tell Spartans Illustrated that the SD4L paperwork is being worked on and, once it is finalized, there will be an official announcement, perhaps as early as next week.

Needless to say, this is a big deal. There are a limited number of official NIL collectives across the country and this one will be very beneficial to MSU Athletics, especially when combined with the NIL work being done at This is Sparta!.

Since its inception, SD4L has reached NIL deals with athletes at MSU, including men’s basketball players and football players. Now, SD4L will sign on as a corporate partner of the university and will operate just like MSUFCU, Meijer, Buick, and other MSU sponsors. While SD4L will be operating on its own, independently of the university, it can now have university-sponsored events, tailgates, etc.

Think Buick Field Goal Challenge or Meijer FanFest, etc.

Before we get into too much detail, though, let’s take a look at NIL from a broader perspective so we can understand how good MSU actually currently has it.

We all know that, with the new NIL rules, student-athletes may now benefit by signing deals with companies to advertise their products and their own personal brand – and they won’t get punished for it by the NCAA. Gone are the days when bags of money had to exchange hands in private to get recruits to go to the schools where the donors wanted them to go.

Looking at the NIL offerings in and around a school is now a part of the recruiting process. However, it isn’t necessarily easy for prospective student-athletes to do the work needed to figure out which local businesses might be willing to pay them for their services while they are on campus. That has resulted in different organizations helping recruits out by putting them in contact with donors or businesses who would be willing to help if the student-athlete decided to come to their local university.

Inevitably, the NIL collective idea emerged – a way for an organization to pool resources and put some structure to the idea of matching student-athletes with donors and businesses. The best NIL collectives are public, crowd-funded, donor-funded pools of money that result in significant funds being provided to student-athletes. If NIL collectives rely solely on big, private donors, they are destined to flame out.

A collective is different than an endorsement from a brand. Brands can endorse student-athletes and pay them money or give them products to represent the brand in public (note: the brands cannot conflict with MSU’s current sponsors). Until now, SD4L was a brand that sponsored Spartan student-athletes. It is a well-respected brand at MSU, though, and you’ll see Mel Tucker and Tom Izzo and others wearing SD4L gear, including a pretty sweet chain around Tucker’s neck at times.

According to their website, SD4L has “been the name of a limited apparel line for ex-Spartan athletes, but … we’re transforming it into something bigger than anyone ever imagined.” It also says that the brand will give you, the Spartan fan, “access to limited edition merch, collector’s items, special events, and even member-only content featuring players, ex-players, coaches and more.”

That is what is on its way now.

SD4L as the official NIL collective at MSU will add another quiver to MSU’s NIL bow.

As mentioned above, there is another NIL collective that supports Michigan State – This is Sparta!. While it is not officially endorsed by the university, it does extremely well and is viewed in a very positive light by those who matter at Michigan State.

The person behind This is Sparta! is Tom Dieters, an MSU alum who won four varsity letters at Michigan State in baseball. Dieters used to serve as Associate Director of Planned Giving at MSU and is currently the Board President of Charitable Gift America, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.

When you check out This is Sparta!, you see that it is a fund run by Charitable Gift America (CGA) and it requires all student-athletes with NIL contracts through them to give 5% of the value of the NIL deal to a charity of their choice.

Over 100 Michigan State athletes have signed endorsement deals with This is Sparta! including all the members of the MSU women’s gymnastics team, the MSU women’s soccer team, the MSU men’s golf team, the MSU women’s golf team, and the women’s basketball team. This is Sparta! has also entered into individual agreements with Spartan football and baseball players.

Dieters handles NIL funds for other universities besides Michigan State (including Central Michigan and Oakland University here in Michigan), so he sees a lot. It’s clear that this NIL collective is different than others as it views NIL as an opportunity to help kids learn about philanthropy. The student-athletes under NIL contract with This is Sparta! are required to identify the charity that they will give 5% of their NIL money to – and write the check themselves. Dieters told me that many Spartan student-athletes give more than the minimum 5% (and then This is Sparta! matches those extra donations).

This is Sparta! supports many different sports programs at MSU. Last year, they contracted with 75 student-athletes, of which 61 were women, and 12 were international student-athletes.

“This is Sparta! is the only NIL collective in the country with a legal opinion from an international law firm that allows us to write NIL contracts with international students,” said Dieters.

That’s a much different model than any other collective in the country. It seems to be a good model, though, because Dieters has been able to attract dollars from people who want to help all the student-athletes, not just the football or basketball players.

Dieters told me that it’s important that Michigan State has a seamless relationship with whichever NIL collective it partners with.

“I’m thrilled that Michigan State has made the decision to promote giving to an NIL collective,” said Dieters, referencing the decision by MSU to partner with SD4L.

From my perspective, it is impressive that MSU donors have two different ways to give to NIL and help the student-athletes at Michigan State. As a non-profit, This is Sparta! takes a different approach to NIL than any other collective across the country.

“Any donation to This is Sparta! can be directed by the donor to any Spartan sport on campus,” said Dieters. “We are donor-driven. We are not in the business of selling merchandise. We use a sophisticated gift-planning model that helps donors create tax-deductible philanthropic plans that can help support any Spartan athlete the donor wants. We want to see all Spartan athletes do well across the university.”

While SD4L appears ready to sign on as the official NIL collective at Michigan State, the Spartan community should realize that MSU has something that perhaps no other university has in the nation – a one-two NIL collective punch that provides opportunities to student-athletes in the revenue sports and the non-revenue sports alike.

As mentioned above, though, one of the hold-ups for both SD4L and This is Sparta! to work at their most efficient is the fact that for universities located in the state of Michigan to take full advantage of relationships with NIL collectives, Michigan’s state law needs a minor tweak.

“We’ve been working with the state legislature to amend the current NIL laws in Michigan to bring collectives and universities closer together, which will help all student-athletes,” Dieters reiterated to me today.

Until that tweak to state law occurs, though, donations made to either SD4L or This is Sparta! are not considered actual donations to the university. As an example, donors do not receive Spartan Fund donation points for money given to an NIL collective. This causes Spartan donors and fans to have to choose where to give their money – as an investment in NIL or as a donation to the university. It would be ideal if a donation to either SD4L or This is Sparta! could be counted towards the donors Spartan Fund ranking.

“We have support from several universities from around the state [for this legislative fix] and we are looking forward to support from Michigan State as well,” said Dieters.

While that legislative fix works its way through the state legislature, both SD4L and This is Sparta! are continuing their work to help Spartan student-athletes.

The latest big-name NIL deal This is Sparta! signed was with football player Charles Brantley, whose NIL deal is structured to allow him to meet monthly with mentors, giving him exposure to professionals in tax, finance, business, and philanthropy fields.

“I’m excited to help lead the Spartans to glory this year while giving back to the community and supporting charities that are making real differences for individuals,” Brantley said in a press release. “I want to thank CGA for giving me this opportunity to start my philanthropic legacy now, while I am still a student.”

And that’s just one example of the real impact that NIL is having on the lives of Michigan State University student-athletes.

It is important to understand that, as it stands right now, Michigan State’s NIL program is already recognized as one of the best in the country – and the Spartans have an award to prove it: Michigan State Athletics’ Evergreen program was awarded with the top institutional NIL program in the country.

The award was all-encompassing – it included education for the student-athletes, yes, but it was also about NIL opportunities and outside-of-the-box thinking, including MSU’s on-campus NIL summit, their NIL celebration, and also the managing and handling of different opportunities – whether it’s from a group licensing standpoint, collective standpoint, or just all-around different brand opportunities on an individual basis.

MSU has taken a very slow and methodical approach to NIL and it is starting to pay off. The foundation has been built and the long-term structure is slowly taking shape. Spartan fans can rest assured that the university they support appears to be doing NIL things the right way – and doing them well.

Stay tuned to Spartans Illustrated for the most in-depth coverage of all things Michigan State NIL.

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