Kirby Smart wants Georgia to be more NIL competitive with Glory Glory initiative
The University of Georgia is upping its place in the name, image and likeness game, as it unveiled its new third-party marketing initiative called Glory Glory on Wednesday.
The school had teased the announcement after closing its previous NIL collective last summer before the House settlement went into effect.
Coach Kirby Smart sees the new initiative as a way to ensure Georgia continues to stay near the top of the ever-changing college football landscape.
“We’ve got to be competitive,” Kirby Smart said in an interview with Glory, Glory Network’s Jeff Dantzler. “We don’t have to have the school with the most. We don’t have to have the school that offers the most. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to be that. I don’t want to be the one that’s known for paying. You attract kids that are money hungry if they just want to be the most. But we want to be competitive. We want to mix our development, our winnings, our culture, all the things these NFL teams say about us.”
Georgia partnered with Learfield in June to handle outside NIL deals.
According to a release from the X account for Georgia Athletics, Glory Glory is a “fan-first ecosystem with a focus on deepening engagement and strengthening the connection between Bulldog fans and Georgia’s athletic programs.”
The announcement of Glory Glory comes on the heels of Georgia signing its lowest-rated recruiting class since Smart became the program’s coach in 2016.
Georgia signed only one five-star recruit and two top-50 prospects in the 2026 recruiting cycle per the 247Sports Composite rankings. Both are new lows, as the Bulldogs missed out on top prospects such as five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, five-star offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell and five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson.
The Bulldogs finished with the No. 6-ranked recruiting class in the 2026 recruiting cycle.
“I want that kid to know that his university is going to be committed to making sure he has a chance to develop on and off the field, and financially, he will have an opportunity to grow and develop,” Smart said. “It doesn’t mean the most. We don’t have to have the most, but we can’t do that without the support of the people in this state and the people that love Georgia. It takes a collective effort now more than ever before. And so many people want to talk about helping and saying they want to do those things. Well, you have a chance to take action now and do that. Why not now?”
The House settlement went into effect July 1, ushering in the world of revenue sharing into college athletics.
In speaking with reporters Friday, Brooks felt Georgia had done well in navigating the new landscape.
“It’s a lot of moving pieces,” Brooks said. “But I’m proud of the way we’ve done it. I think we’ve done it the right way. We haven’t taken shortcuts. And I think we’re building a model that’s sustainable. As sustainable as it can be in these chaotic times. So I’m really proud.”
Georgia also has dabbled in the corporate sponsorship game, as the Delta Air Lines logo now is on the playing surface at Sanford Stadium.
Sponsorship patches on uniforms could be coming soon as well, but Brooks wants to make sure Georgia does its homework in that regard.
“It’s something we’re going to take a look at,” Brooks said. “But, you know, we’re Georgia. We do things a certain way. We take pride and we love our partnerships with our key partners. So, it’s got to be the right fit for us. It’s got to make sense. We’re not just out here chasing dollars just for the sake of chasing dollars. We want to do it the right way.”
Glory Glory offers a tiered membership program at three levels — red, black and silver. Each level provides varying levels of access to exclusive content, events and merchandise.
Fans also can make one-time donations to Glory Glory. Those contributions are not tax-deductible. Businesses also have the opportunity to partner with Georgia athletes through Glory Glory.
“That passion, fire, and energy for me comes from winning football games and developing young men. And I have to find a way to that through every mechanism possible to be competitive in financial arrangements,” Smart said. “And when we go offer guys NIL, I got to have the competitive nature to do it. Do I love it? No, I don’t. I don’t love it. I don’t love having to talk about money, but I do love winning. And I do love having really good football players that want to play for a university. They feel a love and a bond and a connection that I felt.
“Now their love, bond, and connection might be for other reasons, but still, if they love the University of Georgia and they want to play for it, then we’re going to be a better team because of it.”
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
