The Utah-based protein bar company Built is giving BYU football players $600 checks to fulfill the terms of a disputed name, image and likeness deal, The Salt Lake Tribune has confirmed.
The checks are intended to cover the 15% of the sales of the company’s CougarTail bar — a cut scholarship players were promised in exchange for promoting the product on their social media platforms. Five players from last year’s team had told The Salt Lake Tribune they believed Built had not fulfilled its entire NIL contract with players and they had never received their cut of the sales.
Last summer, Built CEO Nick Greer announced during fall camp that Built had begun selling the CougarTail bar — an homage to the popular 16-inch doughnut sold at BYU football games. He said 15% of the profits would go directly back to the players. It was sold widely in stores across the state. However, after almost 10 months, players told The Tribune they had not received any money.
When asked by The Tribune about the players’ claims, Built officials said the money had been paid into a discretionary fund for the football program.
“Built has exceeded every commitment that has been made to players,” a Built official told The Tribune.
BYU, however, said there was no payment made into the discretionary fund.
On Friday, players were told to pick up those checks at Built headquarters after 11 a.m. With the check, Greer wrote a letter to each player.
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