Iowa Pork Signs 19 Cyclones to NIL Deals, Pledges $35,000 to Food Banks

October 15, 2024

The Iowa Pork Producers Association agreed to NIL (name, image, likeness) deals with all 19 Iowa State University student-athletes that participated in the ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ video tryouts. Each of them is getting paid by Iowa Pork for helping encourage consumers to purchase more ham and bacon, and other pork products.

Participants included more than a dozen members of the Iowa State Cyclone football team, which is currently 6-0 and ranked ninth in the country, and four members of the Iowa State women’s basketball team, which is projected to finish second in the Big 12 Conference this year.

A mashup of all the tryout videos was released Monday and is available for your use at this link.

“We are thrilled to partner with these 19 exceptional student-athletes at Iowa State University to help us promote the pork industry,” said Matt Gent, a pig farmer from Wellman, Iowa and president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association. “Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ has been a very popular and successful initiative for us, and we’ve had a lot of fun seeing what new names we could try to fit into the promotion through our series of tryout videos. We’re thankful to all the Cyclones who participated, and to everyone who was inspired to purchase more ham, bacon and other pork products!”

Along with donating $1,000 worth of pork to each participant’s food bank or food pantry of choice, the Iowa Pork Producers Association is providing an additional $16,000 worth of pork to the Iowa Food Bank Association. That $35,000 worth of pork equals almost 50,000 servings to fight food insecurity in Iowa and eight other states.  

“The support of the Iowa Pork Producers through the Iowa State University ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ promotion is incredible,” said Linda Gorkow, executive director of the Iowa Food Bank Association. “In addition to the clever and fun involvement with the ISU athletes, it empowers the ISU players to donate greatly needed pork to their chosen food bank or pantry and this program also heightens awareness of the importance of feeding people facing hunger.”

A list of all 19 players who agreed to NIL deals with the Iowa Pork Producers Association, and their selected food banks and pantries is below:

  • Food Bank of the Rockies in Denver, Colo., in the name of Myles Purchase
  • Food Bank of Iowa in Des Moines, Iowa, in the name of Tyler Moore
  • Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners in Plymouth, Minn., in the name of Tommy Hamann
  • Lake Mills Food Shelf in Lake Mills, Iowa, in the name of Caleb Bacon
  • Food Bank for the Heartland in Omaha, Neb., in the name of Alec Cook
  • Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, in the name of Zach Lovett
  • Food Bank of Iowa, in Des Moines, Iowa, in the name of Abu Sama III
  • St. Theresa Catholic Church Food Bank, in Des Moines, Iowa, in the name of Isaiah Seymour
  • Mahomet Helping Hands Food Pantry in Mahomet, Ill., in the name of Wyatt Bohm
  • Loving Hearts Outreach Food Pantry in Washington, Mo., in the name of Trevor Buhr
  • Second Harvest Heartland Food Bank in Brooklyn Park, Minn., in the name of Stevo Klotz
  • River Bend Food Bank in Davenport, Iowa, in the name of Xavier Hamilton
  • Kossuth County Food Pantry in Algona, Iowa, in the name of Audi Crooks 
  • First Church United Food Pantry in West Liberty, Iowa, in the name of Kelsey Joens
  • Derby Community Food Pantry in Derby, Kan., in the name of Addy Brown
  • Denton Community Food Center in Denton, Texas, in the name of Alisa Williams
  • Cubbie’s Cupboard in Nevada, Iowa, in the name of Carson Rhodes
  • Food Equality Initiative in Lenexa, Kan., in the name of Domonique Orange
  • Lake Mills Food Shelf in Lake Mills, Iowa, in the name of Logan Bacon

Iowa Pork worked closely with the We Will Collective to organize the student-athletes’ participation in the video series and donated $10,000 for their assistance. The We Will Collective is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports Cyclone student-athletes and encourages them to contribute to the community.

"Our partnership with Iowa Pork has been an overwhelming success,” said Brent Blum, executive director of the We Will Collective. “It is truly a win/win for all involved, the Cyclone athletes, Iowa pork producers, local food banks in the state and the national exposure this has provided for such an important industry in our state."

The final student-athlete to participate in a tryout video, Iowa State freshman walk-on Logan Bacon, earned a spot in the punny ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ promotion. The Lake Mills, Iowa native showed up with a wheelbarrow full of bacon, and declared, “Because, you can never have too much bacon!” The judges quickly agreed. Logan Bacon is the younger brother of Cyclone junior linebacker and original ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ roster member Caleb Bacon.

Logan Bacon joins Myles Purchase, Tyler Moore, Tommy Hamann, Caleb Bacon, Alec Cook and Zach Lovett in the promotion that launched last September and quickly went viral across social media, earned national media attention, and was named the Best NIL Deal of 2023 by the Sports Business Journal.

“It’s been a crazy experience having people notice me from a pork promotion, and it’s been fun to be part of for sure,” said Myles Purchase, a senior defensive back for the Cyclone football team. “Being part of something people have enjoyed so much, and also being able to give back to our communities, is something we care a lot about.”

October is National Pork Month, aka ‘Porktober’. The ‘Purchase Moore Bacon Hamann Bacon’ initiative is a key component of Porktober in Iowa. Hy-Vee grocery stores are promoting the campaign to encourage consumers to buy more pork products. In-store displays featuring the Cyclone players went up in 200 Hy-Vee stores across the Midwest.  

Hy-Vee will give away free bacon for a year to 20 recipients and Blackstone Griddles to 10 recipients in conjunction with the promotion. To qualify, consumers simply need to purchase pork at any of the 200 participating Hy-Vee stores between now and October 31 and scan their Hy-Vee PERKS card at checkout. Hy-Vee operates grocery stores in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

All the ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ videos can be found on the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube channels. The full video series is available for your use at this link.