Donald De La Haye Jr., aka Deestroying, started making YouTube videos well before earning a football scholarship as a kicker at the University of Central Florida.
His path took a number of surprise turns before he found himself sharing a stage with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell — not as a draft pick but as a partner with the league as it enters new digital territory.
As Deestroying’s videos started gaining traction and generating income in the 2010s, the era just before “name, image and likeness” (NIL) rules changed the game for college athletes, NCAA officials gave him a choice. “They told me, ‘Hey, you can’t make money from your content while you’re a college athlete.
You either need to delete your channel and donate the money back, or you’ll forfeit your eligibility. Or, just keep doing what you’re doing and you can no longer be a college football player,'” De La Haye, 26, told Deadline in an interview.
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