Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy, an All-American selection, has signed a Name, Image and Likeness partnership with Q-Collar to promote brain health and safety in contact sports. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal adds a high-profile college athlete to Q-Collar's roster as the FDA-cleared device manufacturer expands into the NCAA endorsement market.
Q-Collar manufactures a cervical-compression device worn around the neck that applies mild pressure to jugular veins, intended to increase blood volume in the skull and reduce brain movement during impacts. The device received FDA clearance in 2021 following clinical trials conducted with the Department of Defense. Q-Collar's parent company, Q30 Innovations, has positioned the product as supplemental safety equipment for contact-sport athletes, though adoption has been gradual amid ongoing debate over efficacy and a retail price point near $199.
The Lacy partnership signals Q-Collar's strategic pivot toward college football after establishing a foothold in professional leagues. The company previously secured endorsements from NFL players including Luke Kuechly and has supplier agreements with several NCAA programs. Lacy's profile—1,247 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in his junior season—provides brand visibility in a market where parents, high-school coaches, and equipment managers increasingly scrutinize head-injury mitigation tools. Ole Miss competes in the Southeastern Conference, the highest-revenue league in college sports, where football equipment choices cascade down to youth programs across the South.
The broader context: safety-equipment manufacturers are racing to lock in NCAA endorsements before new tort exposure reshapes college football. The NCAA faces mounting litigation over long-term brain injuries, and institutional defendants now include conferences and schools with athletics budgets exceeding $200 million annually. Equipment suppliers view athlete partnerships as both marketing tools and implicit validation—if an All-American wears it, it carries weight in depositions. Q-Collar's move follows similar plays by helmet manufacturers Riddell and Vicis, both of which have shifted endorsement budgets toward college athletes following NIL liberalization in 2021.
Q-Collar declined to comment on partnership volume or athlete compensation structures. Industry observers estimate mid-tier NIL safety-equipment deals in the $15,000–$50,000 range, with product provision and performance incentives. For Lacy, the deal layers onto existing endorsements and positions him within the growing cohort of athletes monetizing injury-prevention narratives—a category that carries less brand-controversy risk than betting, alcohol, or supplements.
Watch for Q-Collar's presence at Ole Miss home games this fall, including potential on-field visibility during SEC Network broadcasts. The company will likely announce additional SEC athlete signings before the season opener in late August. Separately, the NCAA's proposed $2.8 billion athlete back-pay settlement includes revised equipment-endorsement language that could clarify which product categories require school approval—Q-Collar's legal team has already engaged with conference compliance offices on jurisdictional questions.
Lacy is draft-eligible after the 2026 season. His Q-Collar partnership runs through that cycle, with extension language tied to combine attendance and NFL Draft position.
The takeaway
Q-Collar uses All-American RB endorsement to gain SEC footprint as brain-safety equipment firms chase college market ahead of tort exposure.
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