'1Oklahoma:' Innovating How Student-Athletes Are Paid Through NIL

A new 'Name, Likeness, and Image Collective' is changing the game in the student-athlete landscape.

They're calling it "1Oklahoma" and it's transforming the way athletes are paid and supported.

The University of Oklahoma's brand-new NIL initiative is announced just in time for the Sooners' move to the SEC and with more eyes on OU's players than ever, Sooner fans will have an exclusive peek behind the curtain.

"Understanding the players looks behind the scenes that you simply can't get anywhere else," Jeff Weber, 1Oklahoma’s CEO, said. "What we're doing is really looking beyond the current nil which is really donor-based."

Previously separate NIL entities, 1 Oklahoma Collective, Crimson and Cream, and the Sooner Nation Collective, combined into 1Oklahoma which is now OU's exclusive NIL initiative.

"It is the single way to support OU athletics," Weber said.

CEO Jeff Weber says they're innovating what NIL deals can look like for student-athletes and fans.

"You can participate and support the teams. And yeah, there's money involved for sure, but you're also getting something back," Weber said.

Sooner fans can buy monthly subscriptions, gaining them access to exclusive content and experiences with OU athletics and the players who partner with 1Oklahoma.

To name a few: OU defensive tackle Damonic Williams, QB Jackson Arnold, and Women's Basketball forward Skylar Vann.

"For players, the additional thing this provides them is opening up who they are as people," Weber said. "It's just a different view of who these kids are."

The heart of 1Oklahoma is connecting OU players with their biggest fans.

"As the subscription levels go up obviously you get more access,” Weber said. "The imagination, ours and the fans is the limit."

Sooner fans can go to 1Oklahoma's website to buy a subscription and really that subscription-based model is the biggest shift here in terms of NIL.

And it all comes ahead of a lot of excitement next week as OU joins the SEC.

News 9 will bring in-depth coverage as the transition happens.