Will Levis launches new business venture to further capitalize on his mayonnaise bit while juggling Tennessee Titans, NFL future
The Tennessee Titans third string quarterback is at a crossroads in his football career while co-founding an NIL business venture that aligns with some of his biggest off-field criticisms.
Will Levis has a new business venture. The Titans’ backup QB is in the middle of a battle with Mitch Trubisky and Hendon Hooker on the football field, but he’s also making money moves off the field too.
He’s one of five founders of NIL TV, a media network built exclusively for college student-athletes’ NIL content.
Will Levis founds media network for college student-athletes
Levis is one of the “Founding Five” former student-athletes building this network. Others include Emily Cole (Duke Track/XC, CMO, NIL book author), Chloe Mitchell (Aquinas College Volleyball), Neal Begovich (Stanford, Duke Basketball), and Anthony Egbo (Abilene Christian, football).
Emily Cole (co-founder, chief marketing officer): Our goal is to help empower college athletes to do the deep work to figure out what they stand for, then the easy work of picking up the camera, and using the 5 year platform they have to set themselves up for their dream careers after graduation.
The ultimate vision is to create our own original movies and have a streaming app just like the ones you use every week – where all of the actors are the college athletes you know and love.
We are partnering with colleges as well to empower their athletes with the education & tools necessary to build a brand that will set them up for the rest of their lives.
Never underestimate the power of your own story.
Levis’ title is “Business Development” within his new company. Under his title as “Business Development” the short bio reads: “Signed first ever NIL deal between a student athlete and a Thoroughbred stallion.”
On the instagram post announcement it reads: “He turned his famous mayonnaise-in-coffee habit and viral Thoroughbred Stallion campaign into successful NIL partnerships.”
One of their first initiatives is “NIL Star”, a national singing competition for college athletes, with a grand prize of $10,000.
- Open to all college student athletes nationwide, including graduating seniors
- Compete from your Instagram & TikTok original songs, raps & parodies encouraged
- Top 10 finalists win swag bags & advance to the second & final round mid July
- Winner receives a $10,000 check
Will Levis again juggles the ‘main thing’ at the wrong time
Stanley: This theme with Levis being distracted or preoccupied by the side gig continues at a time where his NFL future is up in the air. To be clear, NIL TV could be a great business venture to help a lot of college athletes maximize their the career at their highest moment of exposure.
The former second round pick is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract with the Titans with his future complexly up in the air. Levis spoiled his chance to be the Titans’ franchise quarterback with a drastic turnover riddled 2024 campaign.
Before the 2024 season, Levis launched his national mayonnaise commercial during training camp, which included a mayonnaise (citrus) cologne. The cologne proceeds went to charity, which is fine. But never has an NFL quarterback gotten a national ad campaign for doing less than Levis, who had nine touchdown passes to his NFL name.
The mayo campaign resurfaced the video of Levis at the Manning Passing Academy while in college. Every college QB in attendance, working the camp as counselors, had chance to ask Peyton and Eli Manning questions for NFL QB career advice. Levis asked…
“What advice do you have on the marketing side, maximizing those opportunities while at the same time maintaining the notion that your mind is in the right place as a quarterback?”
“I’ve done my share of commercials, now,” Peyton answered. “But there’s a time and a place for it, but let’s make the football priority number one. Don’t give anybody a chance to say ‘I wasn’t all in on football.’”
Tennessee elected to hand the franchise to Cam Ward with the first overall pick in 2025. A few months later, Levis elected to end his 2025 season by going under the knife to surgically repair his shoulder injury that began in college at Kentucky, then popping up again with the Titans in 2024. It was known the Titans didn’t want that route for the 2025 season for Levis, but his season was over before training camp actually began.
Now Levis, who keeps seeming to chase vitality instead of consistent quarterback play, is making a business decision before the Titans have to make one to either trade, keep, or cut their third string quarterback.
Levis does one thing consistently: stay on brand.