W|W WEDNESDAY NEWSLETTER: SEPT 3, 2025
We’re one day away from NFL opening night, and the league’s been busy with retail partnerships — in particular, with Crocs and Abercrombie & Fitch. We focused on the latter in yesterday’s W|W Download, with a nod to how the collab could use a bit more focus on substance over style.
In other news, Caitlin Clark inked a new partnership with Stanley 1913, while the Atlanta Dream and Cash App are hitting a second initiative out of the park, this time to relieve debt for their fans.
This week’s Mic Drop is all about high fives, and since Peyton Manning jokingly said that his little brother Archie was adopted after throwing an interception this past weekend, we decided to level him up… sort of!
Keep on reading to find out more. And get those game-day nachos ready!
Until next week,
The WIN | WIN team
ICYMI: THIS WEEK’S W|W DOWNLOADS
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RETAIL PARTNERSHIPS
We shared a quick hot take on IG last week about the NFL’s latest fashion collaboration with mall-famous retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. Both partners are hoping that their gameday-inspired collection will attract a new generation of fans, but we think there’s more they could do with this play in order to really make an impact.
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WOMEN’S SPORTS
The Stanley 1913 brand has teamed up with WNBA icon Caitlin Clark to debut a new, high-performance hydration line with product details inspired by Clark, including light blue and purple colors, basketball artwork, and her embossed signature. And while we love the collab for its vibe and buzzy-ness, there’s definitely an opportunity here to level-up.
Read more →
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DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT
The Atlanta Dream, in partnership with Cash App and ForgiveCo, are eliminating a staggering $10M in consumer debt for 3,500 families and individuals across Atlanta, addressing a diverse cross-section of residents and providing them with a path toward financial stability. This partnership activation? 100% slam dunk.
Read more →
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Image source: gohatters.com (Stetson sports)
"High Five Fridays are an excellent way to not only engage our fan base and community, but to also be a positive influence in the lives of young people. These types of events…provide our young men perspective on what truly matters, which is being a light to future generations."
Mike Jasper, Stetson University Football’s Head Coach, on his athletes visiting local elementary schools to encourage and support young students
Read more about the team’s community involvement here
College sports are changing faster than a draft pick scandal goes down these days, but there are some names (or dynasties) that just keep going strong. In this case, we’re talking about the Manning family — University of Texas quarterback Arch Manning, to be specific. Given his high-profile status, any brand partnership he’s part of is going to get major visibility. Which is both a pun, and exactly what Warby Parker is banking on (visibility, eyewear, get it?) with their first leap into college athlete sponsorships.
On the surface, the collab is an easy win:
Warby Parker was founded on a “buy one, give one” model of corporate philanthropy, and Arch Manning has been widely praised for his intentional, purpose-driven approach to brand partnerships. He’s also worn glasses since he was a kid, so repping an eyewear brand seems like a natural fit. As far as what the partnership entails, the press release mentions “new eyewear collections, local Austin initiatives with Warby Parker’s school-based vision program, Pupils Project, and more.”
This got us wondering…what sort of “local Austin initiatives” do they have planned? And what's behind the “and more” they’ve got tucked away in their cleats?
Of course, we have a few ideas of our own to toss into the mix…
🎤 LAUNCH A “VISIONARY VOICES” CAMPUS SPEAKING SERIES
Warby Parker was founded by Neil and Rachel Blumenthal, who also have strong ties to the academic world through the Derby Entrepreneurial Center at Tufts University. The brand could team up with both the University of Texas, and Tufts, to create a cross-campus speaker series called "Visionary Voices," which would bring together a mix of accomplished leaders from both sports and business to share their personal stories about vision — both literally and figuratively — in their careers.
The events could be hosted live on one of the two campuses and streamed digitally to students, faculty, and alumni at the other, with Arch, of course, headlining at least one of the sessions. It’s a great way for Warby Parker to not just support one college athlete, but to inspire an entire generation of students across two major universities.
🧠 INTRODUCE THE “FRAME OF MIND” MENTAL WELLNESS INITIATIVE
The Manning Family’s always been known for their mental toughness in football. Warby Parker and UT could build on this by launching "The Frame of Mind," a co-branded mental wellness initiative powered by The Hidden Opponent (THO), a nonprofit that’s already doing incredible work in the field of collegiate athlete mental health. It’s a classic WIN | WIN:
1) Arch Manning’s presence, and Warby Parker’s funding, would give THO’s existing campus programming and impact a massive boost.
2) By associating with THO, Warby Parker would get in front of thousands of new potential customers, reaching an entirely new audience of kids who were still in elementary school when the eyewear brand was founded back in 2010.
👓 START AN “EYE TO THE FUTURE” NIL COLLECTIVE
Warby Parker could use the deal with Arch Manning as a stepping stone to build a more extensive NIL network of college athletes with vision challenges. If you’ve ever needed to wear glasses while playing sports, you know that it’s not just an inconvenience (they can fall off, they can get foggy, they can be distracting), but for many kids, it also makes them feel different from, or even “less than,” their non-glasses-wearing teammates.
By recruiting a group of college athletes who all understand — and have overcome — the challenges firsthand, Warby Parker could amplify awareness for its school-based vision program, Pupils Project, and show younger kids that wearing glasses isn’t a deficit, but a difference to be celebrated in style.
Like usual, we’ve got more ideas for where to take this collaboration. But we also have to give credit where it’s due: the authenticity, accessibility, and playfulness of this partnership is already a major win. We just believe, much like the Mannings and Warby Parker, that there’s always more good to be done, both on and off the field.
WHAT ELSE WE’RE FOLLOWING
🎧 Spotify and Nike launched their global “Make Moves” campaign after a successful pilot in the UK. One song a day to get your body moving. ❤️ it!
🏈 Need any last minute pick wire pick-ups for your fantasy team? Joe Flynn created the 1st ever fantasy football draft guide for good, and its trending on Reddit.
🏀 Enough is enough. Coach K is leading an NBA committee to address youth basketball overuse and development gaps, in a story from our friends over at Youth Sports Business Report.
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