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LOS ANGELES — Tyler Shough always wanted a Joe Montana jersey. Growing up in Chandler, Ariz., Shough eyed the legendary NFL quarterback’s No. 16 hanging over his uncle’s mantle.
To his surprise, the New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback received a video message from Montana during a Fanatics branding photo shoot at the NFLPA Rookie Premiere event over the weekend. Then he found a signed Montana jersey hiding underneath his seat.
“That was a surreal moment,” Shough told FOX Sports. “I heard about it beforehand because I was in one of the later groups. They give you a jersey from someone in the league, and I was like, ‘That’s going to be sweet.’
“So I was expecting a current player or whoever. But then Joe Montana, oh my gosh.”
Shough was one of 42 players invited to the NFLPA’s Rookie Premiere this year. What started as a trading card photo shoot in 1994 has grown into the NFL Players Association hosting an annual event for the top marketable rookies, connecting them with business opportunities and partners created by the league’s union.
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The 2025 event included interactions with brand sponsors such as trading card company Panini America, Fanatics, Nike, EA Sports and EXOS training facility. Fanatics hosted a jersey reveal on the rooftop floor of the InterContinental hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The players also participated in a photo shoot in full uniform at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.
To open the weekend, current and former NFL players — including Torry Holt, Sam Acho, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Equanimeous St. Brown and George Hegamin — mentored the rookies on the pitfalls to avoid entering the league and how to get the most out of their experience. Holt, a six-time Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist and brand ambassador for Panini, kept it simple.
“Obviously No. 1, take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of you, for sure,” Holt told FOX Sports. “But also make sure you keep football first, because that’s going to generate opportunities off the field with the Paninis and others by doing what you’re supposed to do on the field.
“And then know your assignment. That’s part of doing your job. That’s part of creating opportunities like this. And then have fun. Really, enjoy being in your environment so that you can be a good teammate. Enjoy being around your teammates, and then everything else will take care of itself.”
Because these players are from one of the first classes to arrive in the NIL era, many have already made millions in endorsements and sponsorships, so they have a head start in understanding the financial aspects of the game and how to build their brand.
“What’s different is they’ve already engaged with sponsors before,” said Matt Curtin, president of NFL Players Inc., a for-profit marketing and licensing arm of the NFLPA. “A lot of them have done it in the context of a collective. They’ve already received royalties from the sale of their jerseys in most cases. Increasingly, because of the return of the college game, they have appeared in a video game already.
“Those things used to happen for the first time once they arrived here. Another thing that has changed is … this [used to be] the first time they got paid. So everything was new, and the economics of it were much more compelling and exciting. What’s not different is you’re only a rookie once. And for a lot of these products, the rookies generate a lot of excitement. Rookie jerseys sell more on average than other jerseys because it’s the first time you can go buy it, and people are excited to buy it.”
Shough spent six years in college at three schools — Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville — so he has plenty of experience in the NIL world. But for the 25-year-old, the NFLPA event provided an opportunity to network and get to know other players in his draft class.
“I think for me, the best part is just seeing everybody,” Shough said. “Seeing all these new faces, rekindling with old, familiar faces. Getting to meet new brands. It’s been non-stop action. It’s kind of been like a theme park almost. It’s been really fun to hang out with everybody.”
Fanatics held content shoots over the weekend, including a locker room scene where rookies discussed their journey to the league and received those surprise video messages from NFL legends they looked up to as kids.
The concept is the brainchild of Adam Lock, vice president and creative director for Fanatics. Lock said he wanted to show that players are fans too, just like everyone else. New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo got teary-eyed after receiving some words of wisdom and a signed jersey from one of his idols, former Tennessee Titans star running back Eddie George.
At the jersey reveal, players anxiously waited behind ropes in front of a black curtain, with hip-hop beats bumping in the background. Once the curtain dropped, players and their families hurriedly moved in to see the jerseys for the first time, like enthusiastic kids unwrapping presents from under the Christmas tree.
“It’s just special to recognize all those who helped me get here,” Giants first-round pick Jaxson Dart told FOX Sports. “I got my family, got my parents here. It’s a surreal feeling to see [my jersey] for the first time. It’s super sick.”
Curtin previously worked on Wall Street for 26 years, where he developed a relationship with NFLPA Executive Director Lloyd Howell Jr. For the union, the weekend is an opportunity to give players an inside look at how the business works.
“We want the players to have a good experience,” Curtin told FOX Sports. “Ultimately, though, we have $350 million in player revenue in Players Inc. Most of that goes back to the players, and some of it funds the union.
“But why we ultimately exist is the league does over $20 billion in revenue. Through the collective bargaining efforts of our predecessors, the players get 48.4% of that. … But one of the things I’ve impressed upon them is, ‘Look, this collection of 42 guys will never be in the same room again. So get to know one another — the camaraderie and brotherhood of that — and spending time together.”
For Shough and other rookies, they’ve already got a jump start on branding themselves. Now it’s just building on that process.
“There’s more of a base knowledge in terms of what to expect, which helps,” Shough said. “You’ve had interactions with people already. It’s really prepared guys for what it looks like at the next level.”
And for the 42 players who attended the Rookie Premiere event, the next level is here.
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.
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