Living Healthy With StickIt

When Dr. Tom Nicholson, a co-founder of StickIt Snacks, began thinking about partnering with a local student-athlete to help promote his fairly new company, he knew he specifically wanted to work with a walk-on. 

Nicholson was eventually put in contact with Conor Fagan, a walk-on redshirt junior offensive lineman from Clarksburg, Maryland and the two agreed on terms for an NIL deal. Fagan would help promote StickIt Snacks, a healthy beef stick snack packed with high protein, fiber and essential vitamins and minerals on his social media, in exchange for compensation and increased product access.

“It’s this super healthy alternative to a Slim Jim or a beef stick or something like that,” Fagan explained. “It has no artificial additions or anything and it’s also really tasty and it’s good fuel.”

This marks Fagan’s first NIL deal—and the moment was made more special because of Nicholson’s specific desire to work with a walk-on.

“It definitely made it a little more special for me. We obviously have a lot of high-profile players on the team who might reach a wider audience, but for him to specifically ask for someone like me was really cool.”

“When we first got to the deal, we talked more about just making a couple of Instagram posts. We were talking about what they could do with their overall brand and some bigger things like that.” 

The partnership has been equally as beneficial and important for Dr. Nicholson and StickIt Snacks.

"StickIt is a healthy beef stick that is perfect for college athletes and students. We wanted to support a student-athlete that was playing football and had a strong interest in business and economics. Conor is a great kid and has been great to support and has really helped with our brand awareness."

Fagan also appreciated the opportunity to work with an up-and-coming company on their way to large-scale success.

“It was really cool for me to help a small business out,” Fagan said. “They were very early into production when I first met Tom but now they’re super far-reaching. It’s been a great experience because I’ve gotten to make some money and also help a company grow.”

The growth of StickIt Snacks nationally mirrors Fagan’s own growth on the field. After appearing in just one total game his first three seasons in College Park, he has developed into a key part of the offensive line rotation this year, appearing in each of the first four games. 

“It’s been a really fun season and I’m enjoying this role a lot.”