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Osseo High School standout student-athlete Jerome Williams signed a sponsorship deal with Premier Pinball & Amusement (PPA) Monday, joining a growing list of current prep stars in the Land of 10,000 Lakes with a NIL deal.
“I wanted to create a deal that not only benefits Jerome and PPA but also the local community,” said owner and founder Andrew Lanners. “PPA is signing Jerome to a one-year deal. This deal will extend through his freshman year at the University of Minnesota,” owner and founder Andrew Lanners said.
The deal is expected to include public appearances, social media posts and radio stations. Both Williams and Lanners emphasize the importance of giving back to the community with this deal. Jerome will be making appearances on behalf of PPA throughout the year, volunteering his time with local youth.
Premier Pinball & Amusement (PPA) is a Minneapolis-based business that buys, sells, repurposes, rents and transports anything that you would see in an at-home arcade, with new and used machines all over the country. Andrew Lanners the company’s founder and owner evolved continued to evolve PPA from his parent’s garage into what it is today. Lanners is a teacher/coach at Osseo Senior High and he’s been able to develop a relationship with Jerome Williams.
Listed at 6-foot-4, 285 pounds Jerome Williams is a 4-star recruit according to 247sports. He is the No. 3 ranked player in Minnesota, No. 33 overall interior offensive lineman (IOL) and No. 445 ranked player in the country. He held top offers from Iowa State, Illinois, West Virginia and Kansas, before opting to stay home and commit to the Gophers last February.
“It was all football, I wasn’t really worried about NIL, I wasn’t pushing for [it]. It wasn’t really something I was even interested in during the recruiting process,” said Williams. “It was all football and that’s the way I wanted it.”
The MSHSL officially approved a new NIL policy for student-athletes in June, allowing student-athletes to make money from teaching, coaching, advertising, and autographs, and it allows athletes to hire representation. Williams joins former Edina standout soccer player Bayliss Flynn among others to a growing list of at least four current high schoolers in Minnesota to have a NIL deal, including Osseo high school standout wrestler Jacob Meissner who signed a similar deal with PPA.
“The process was pretty tedious. There are a lot of rules, which I think is a good thing,” said Lanners.
Although Jerome’s deal with PPA is independent, Gophers athletics recently partnered with their own NIL collective called Dinkytown athletes which, “provides a platform for student-athletes at the Univeristy of Minnesota to create and develop opportunities with business and sponsors,” according to its website.
“I actually don’t know too much about it,” said Williams. “It’s something that I hope to be a part of once I get there on campus, but I really haven’t talked to them about it, I am kinda just waiting until I get there and see what they got for me.”
Jerome is expected to join the Gophers football program this fall as he will begin his collegiate football career.
“I hope as PPA grows and Jerome’s football career grows, we can grow this deal into something much bigger, with much more opportunities on both ends,” said Lanners.
–> Check out PPA’s Website: https://ppamn.com/ <–