UM safety enters NIL world with CanesWear
University of Miami standout safety James Williams is laser-focused about being “great.”
He also loves his threads.
Williams, the 6-5, 218pound former nationally heralded five-star recruit out of Plantation American Heritage, has entered the world of Name, Image and Likeness.
Represented by marketing agent Eric Dounn of LAA Sports & Entertainment, Williams has signed a two-year merchandise and memorabilia deal to be the “lead ambassador” of CanesWear in Davie. He is starting his own clothing line that will be promoted and branded as #BeGreat — Williams’ well-known slogan on social media.
“I’m very excited about it,” Williams, who grew up in Opa-locka, told the Miami Herald on Sunday. “I like whatever I wear to stand out — and mean something. For me it will represent the people in this community and hopefully aspire the kids in South Florida to be great.”
Williams, Dounn and CanesWear founder Brett Gittelman said the twoyear deal with CanesWear is worth “at least $30,000.” It will include store appearances, autograph signings, promotional videos and anything else he can do to promote Gittelman and double-UM grad co-owner Ken Graff’s business.
Williams said his clothing line, which will become available during the summer as the season nears, will include T-shirts, hats, hoodies, skullies, headbands and sweatpants in orange and green and “offfield colors,” too.
He’s well aware that the deal is modest compared to what some of his teammates will earn from their various NIL contracts, but Williams said he considers the folks at CanesWear “like family” and is “just trusting the process.” He said he’s thrilled about “giving back to the community” by making youth appearances and donating a portion of his proceeds to South Florida causes.
NIL RESENTMENT?
“As a player you just gotta stay focused and grind,” Williams, 19, told the Herald when asked if he feels resentment could grow among players who might not have NIL deals as lucrative as others with luxury cars and six-figure contracts.
“You can’t really focus on the next man and what
he has going for himself. You have to get your foundation down for you and figure out what you want for yourself. No matter what the next man gets, you may get better, you may get worse.
“Trust your own self.” Dounn, the agent, and CanesWear’s Gittelman both grew up adoring the Canes.
Dounn, 31, was raised in Cooper City, played basketball for Johnson & Wales University in North
Miami Beach and was 11 when he and his father watched the Hurricanes win their 2001 national title against Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. He said he “used to chase Sean Taylor and Ed Reed for autographs and photos.”
“I’d hang out at the end zone hours before the game and at their buses afterward,” Dounn said. “It’s crazy how things have come around. James Williams has at least two years left at the University of
Miami, so we’re going to maximize and not rush anything.
“James Williams is a very special person. We want to get his name, his brand, his image, his smile, his face back to where he grew up and it all started.”
FIVE-STAR WILLIAMS
Williams will soon enter his sophomore season. He was the nation’s No. 1 safety prospect in the 2021 signing class. He took over as a UM starter Sept. 15 against Central Connecticut State and started seven consecutive games before sustaining an injury Nov. 13 against Florida State that required season-ending sports hernia surgery.
Williams finished his freshman year with 31 tackles, half a tackle for loss, two interceptions and two passes defended in 10 games. He said “he’s
1,000 percent” healthy now and his “goals are to be the best safety in college and win the Jim Thorpe Award.
“I’m looking forward to playing in every game this season — all 15,” he said, inferring that Miami, which has a 12-game regularseason schedule, will qualify for the College Football Playoff and advance to the championship.
Williams said he has been working this spring with fellow UM safeties Kam Kinchens and Avantae Williams in the PER4ORM and Gold Feet Global training programs. He said the “intensity of the whole UM program has changed in all ways” since Mario Cristobal took over as head coach in December.
“It feels like a winning program,” Williams said. “We’re on track to get where we want to go and what we want to be.”
As for Gittelman, he worked as a vendor selling sodas in the Orange Bowl during his days at Miami Beach High School.
“We have a great relationship with LAA and have taken a liking to James,” said Gittelman, whose business will collaborate with Williams in his clothing designs. “Great young man, great work ethic, very personable, very humble and very appreciative.
“It’s all about relationships, not only with athletes but with our customers and fan base. We’re a small, independent business that started in 2010. James has that ‘it’ factor, and this should benefit everyone.”