Missouri DE Damon Wilson donates part of NIL deal to youth football in hometown
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Missouri defensive end Damon Wilson showed his heart before even playing a down for the Tigers.
Wilson showed the Missouri football community what kind of person he is before he gets a chance to show what kind of player he is. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz has high expectations for the talent who spent his first 2 collegiate seasons at SEC rival Georgia. What Wilson just did for his hometown of Venice, Fla., should endear him to Drinkwitz and Tigers fans alike.
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Venice is where Wilson’s football journey began, and he wanted to show how much his roots means to him. So, Wilson decided to use some of his NIL deal to give back. He’s donating over $10,000 to the Pop Warner youth football program in his hometown using some of that NIL money.
“That’s one thing that a lot of college football teams talk about: giving back to your community instead of just taking, taking, taking, taking all the time,” said Wilson.
Wilson made a donation to the Venice Vikings youth team. He’s also previously made donations to the Venice high school football program, where Wilson developed into 1 of the top recruits in the country in the Class of 2023.
He has a $989,000 On3 NIL Valuation after spending his first 2 seasons at Georgia. Last fall, Wilson had 22 tackles, including 6 tackles-for-loss, and added 3 sacks. He also had 2 fumble recoveries in 14 games for the Bulldogs before deciding to transfer to Missouri.
Wilson announced his commitment to Drinkwitz’s program in January and now, before even playing an official snap for the Tigers, he’s showing everybody the kind of human being he is.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
