12/6/2022 football Edit

New NIL collective The Battle's End announces signings of four FSU players

The Battle's End launched as a new football-focused FSU NIL collective on Tuesday. (The Battle's End)

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

There’s a new Florida State name, image and likeness collective in town.

The Battle’s End, a new name in the FSU NIL space, launched Tuesday. The collective is being helmed by CEO Ingram Smith, co-host of The Nolecast, one of the earliest and most preeminent FSU-related podcasts.

The timing of The Battle’s End (a name which directly references words from FSU’s fight song) launch is not coincidental. It was a well-timed launch during a busy time of year when it comes to decisions being made by football players.

“Our focus right now is 100% on retention of the (FSU football) roster…” Smith told the Osceola. “Certainly NIL has fascinated me since the beginning of it. I look forward to working with a really incredible team that we’ve put together. I will tell you that a lot of Florida State’s more influential backers are supporting this.”

There are certain NCAA regulations that restrict NIL collectives from solely raising money in support of a single sport. FSU’s first major NIL collective, Rising Spear, has prided itself on a holistic approach to FSU athletics. Smith says The Battle’s End will narrow in more on football with some involvement in other sports as well.

“We will be involved in other sports, certainly, but football is going to be our focus and our main driver,” Smith said.

Smith said there will be an aspect of The Battle’s End over time that will allow for FSU fans to get directly involved with donations that will support the school’s athletes.

However, the amount of financial backing the collective has built in the lead-up to its launch and the aggressiveness the collective expects to operate with in the NIL space will not require a surge of donations on the front end.

“As for right now, admittedly, we don’t need money. We just want to go about our business and produce results,” Smith said. “We will have platforms that people can get involved with in the future and we very much want involvement. Right now, we’re just about retention and we will let our work speak for itself.”

The Battle's End started this retention by announcing relationships with four FSU players on the defensive side of the ball Tuesday evening. This list included FSU linebacker Kalen DeLoach, who will return for the Seminoles in 2023, newly-named ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and defensive end Patrick Payton and cornerbacks Jarrian Jones and Renardo Green, who will both return for their fifth seasons in college football next year.

While The Battle’s End could be seen as a competitor with Rising Spear in the NIL space, Smith doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t know exactly how the space will work out, but I know we all have the same goals and wants,” Smith said.

As for what else is on the immediate horizon, Smith is staying tight-lipped about it. However, he is definitely very confident in the role that his collective can carve out in the FSU athletics landscape because of the team he’s assembled.

“There will be more information about this over time. We have an exceptional team,” Smith said. “We’ve been working on this for four or five months. It hasn’t leaked on a message board, on a podcast, anything. That is as strong of a compliment as I can pay to the people that I’m working with.”