Rising Spear: Thoughts on Warpath 850 merging with Rising Spear

The Rising Spear collective came to fruition last year when it became clear NCAA student-athletes would be paid for their name, image, and likeness.

It was a little slow getting off the ground, and another collective came to fruition earlier this year with War Path 850. The latter is associated with former FSU football quarterback McKenzie Milton.

However, both collectives went on a media blitz a few weeks ago, with Rising Spear indicating all donations would go directly to FSU student-athletes.

At the time, Warpath 850 planned to work with FSU students and students from other universities like UCF, which is where McKenzie Milton played before coming to FSU.

However, an announced merger between the two collectives got announced Wednesday, with Warpath 850 donors centralized under the Rising Spear umbrella.

All donations between the two collectives will go directly to FSU student-athletes for services they provide while working with local businesses.

Thoughts

I’m a fan of the move. I wasn’t a fan of a NIL collective working with FSU student-athletes and other universities.

It felt like they were competing for the same businesses, but the merger provides clarity on the ultimate goal, helping the student-athlete profit from their name, image, and likeness for services provided.

100 percent of the money acquired will go directly to FSU students under this merger. I don’t think that was originally the case with Warpath 850.

It should also clear up any lingering questions regarding what each collective does since they are under the same umbrella. Rising Spear surpassed 1,100 donors last week.

I would guess Warpath 850 doesn’t have that many, but whatever they have can count towards the overall total. If you haven’t become a donor, you can do so here and donate to your sport of choice.