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When Oregon decided last year to allow high school athletes to partake in NIL deals—a partnership which allows student athletes to profit from a brand using their “name, image, and likeness”—sports apparel brands like Portland Gear had to act fast. Marcus Harvey knew who his first calls would be.
You may not know Harvey by name. But you’d recognize his work around town. That iconic “P” logo with the outline of Oregon inside, plastered on everything from T-shirts to hats to bags? That’s him. Oh, and if you happen to follow the “@portland” handle on Instagram—that’s him too.
Harvey launched Portland Gear back in 2014, and quickly amassed a following. “I just wanted to create a brand and a logo for the city that I loved, and something that I could wear,” Harvey says. “It turns out other people liked them.”
Harvey’s branding has landed on the outfits of Portland pro athletes like NFL linebacker Brennan Scarlett. Portland Gear’s first NIL deal was with Stanford women’s basketball star Cameron Brink. It partnered with Brink to launch a pink hoodie that featured her silhouette.
Thanks to Portland’s basketball scene, Harvey was acquainted with the two athletes he wanted to sign: Sofia Bell and Jackson Shelstad. Otherwise known as: the top basketball prospects in the state of Oregon. Bell is a nationally ranked wing at Jesuit High School. Shelstad, a top-100 player, is West Linn High’s point guard. Both athletes have committed to play basketball at the University of Oregon starting this fall.
On Oct. 20, Portland Gear announced it had signed the pair to an NIL deal that gives both students monetary and product compensation, in exchange for their promotion of Portland Gear. (After contacting the athletes’ parents, of course.) Shelstad and Bell also collabed with Portland Gear to release limited-edition T-shirts—the “Sofia Bell Jersey Tee” and the “Jackson Shelstad Jersey Tee.”
“We have young high school consumers, and these are two people that other high schoolers look up to,” Harvey says. Plus, he adds, “we want the best people rocking our gear.”