College athletes can now accept sponsorships and make money by applying on barstoolsports.com. They can have their picture posted on instagram, the words “Barstool Athlete” in their Instagram bio, and receive free merchandise. This organization leads college athletes to profit from their athletic abilities.

       All around the country are Division I Barstool athletes. This includes any type of sport played by girls and boys. The creator, Dave Portnoy posted in July that students can sign up to become a Barstool athlete. The deal was, any athlete that signs up will receive free merchandise. Besides this deal, nobody else really knows what these partnerships will entail. 

        Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team is filled with Barstool athletes. One of them, Deanna Weisenburger, who’s a strong defender on the Seawolves, said, “Being sponsored as a D1 athlete is an incredible feeling. We have been waiting for a long time and now that it’s finally here we can use it to our own advantage to help build our brand.” With so many sponsored Seawolves, the team can get hyped up.

     There are no direct benefits of becoming a Barstool Athlete, but Barstool founder Dave Portnoy called Barstool Athletes a “marketing agency” and the perks of becoming a Barstool Athlete are exposure on social media and company merchandise. Most kids like the “clout” factor of most things, this being one of the reasons to become a barstool athlete. Deanna said, “I wouldn’t say the process was exactly hard but for me personally I wanted to connect with brands I knew I could build a relationship with and use products that would help me.” 

     Another Barstool athlete is 2021 grad, Dom Sarno. Dom is currently a freshman at LIU playing football. He said, “My favorite thing definitely has to be the perks that came with it. They sent me a bunch of clothes which are really nice plus some more stuff coming in the future.” 

       It is an exciting time to be a college athlete, who are finally allowed to capitalize off their skills. Follow Barstool athletes @barstoolathletics!