The NIL Store officially launches its first-ever ESPN The Magazine collection, spotlighting 25 of college football's brightest stars, and reigning national championship-game head coach Curt Cignetti, just as the 2026 season kicks off.
Shop the full collection now at nil.store/espn.
A Nostalgic Icon, Reimagined for a New Generation
For more than two decades, ESPN The Magazine sat on nightstands, in backpacks, and on locker room walls. It was a rite of passage for any athlete who made the cover. Its bold covers and iconic branding turned games and moments into keepsakes fans held onto for years.
Now, ESPN The Magazine is back - not on newsstands, but on apparel - through a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the NIL Store. The ESPN The Magazine Collection reimagines that same nostalgic design language for a new generation of college football stars, turning today's breakout quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and one standout head coach into the cover athletes of 2026.
More than merchandise, it's a collectible - the same way the magazine itself was for fans who grew up flipping through its pages.
Introducing the 2026 College Football Preview Collection
Timed perfectly for the start of the college football season, this collection captures 25 rising stars from across the country on the verge of writing the next chapter of their careers. From reigning conference contenders to breakout transfer portal additions to a national championship-winning head coach, the lineup represents some of the sport's most electric storylines heading into 2026.
The full roster of cover athletes includes:
| School | Cover Star |
|---|---|
| Auburn | Byrum Brown (QB) |
| Boise State | Maddux Madsen (QB) |
| BYU | LJ Martin (RB) |
| Cal | Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (QB) |
| Florida | Jadan Baugh (RB) |
| Georgia | Gunner Stockton (QB) |
| Hawaii | Micah Alejado (QB) |
| Illinois | Katin Houser (QB) |
| Illinois State | Victor Dawson (RB) |
| Indiana | Charlie Becker (WR) |
| Indiana | Curt Cignetti (Head Coach) |
| Louisville | Isaac Brown (RB) |
| LSU | Sam Leavitt (QB) |
| Michigan | Jordan Marshall (RB) |
| Mizzou | Ahmad Hardy (RB) |
| NDSU | Nathan Hayes (QB) |
| Nebraska | Anthony Colandrea |
| Ohio State | Jeremiah Smith (WR) |
| Oklahoma | John Mateer (QB) |
| Ole Miss | Trinidad Chambliss (QB) |
| Penn State | Rocco Becht |
| South Carolina | LaNorris Sellers (QB) |
| Tulane | Chris Rodgers, Jack Tchienchou, Dickson Agu |
| USC | Jayden Maiava (QB) |
| Utah | Devon Dampier (QB) |
| Vanderbilt | Jared Curtis (QB) |
| West Virginia | Jaden Bray (WR) |
The collection also honors Curt Cignetti, who led Indiana to one of the most electric turnarounds in college football, with his own cover treatment — a nod to the fact that ESPN The Magazine always celebrated the architects of a program's rise, not just the players on the field.
A portion of all of Cignetti's sales support the Riley's Hospital for Children.
The First of Many: NIL Store x ESPN
This collection marks the first official launch under the NIL Store's new branding partnership with ESPN, and it's just the beginning. As college football's biggest moments unfold throughout the season, expect the NIL Store and ESPN to keep turning them into wearable, collectible drops that fans can claim before the moment passes.
For the NIL Store, this partnership is a natural next step in its mission: giving student-athletes real, direct opportunities to build their brand and earn from their name, image, and likeness, backed by one of the most trusted names in sports media.
Athletes Earn on Every Sale
As with every product across the NIL Store, athletes featured in the ESPN The Magazine Collection earn directly from every sale. That's the foundation the NIL Store was built on.
Every purchase is a way for fans to support their favorite player or coach directly, while owning a piece of design history reborn for 2026.
Shop the Collection
The ESPN The Magazine Collection is live now at nil.store/espn, featuring apparel for all 25 cover athletes and Coach Cignetti. Whether you're repping your alma mater's next star quarterback or grabbing a collectible for the coach who brought a championship run to life, this drop is built for fans who remember what it felt like to see their favorite player on the cover — and want to own that feeling again.
The NIL Store is the athlete merchandise marketplace serving 150+ schools and 30,000+ student-athletes, with partnerships including ESPN, the WNBPA, and the MLBPA. The NIL Store is part of Campus Ink, the collegiate merchandise company that turns campus culture into commerce, empowering athletes, students, and communities through a house of brands, all powered by its own production engine.
