Two Sport Management alumni are helping collegiate athletes turn their old athletic gear and personal items into memorabilia for fans.

Jason Lansing (SM ‘21) and Austin Pomerantz (SM ‘21) are the co-founders of The Players Trunk, an online store that gives college athletes a platform to monetize game-worn gear, collectibles, merchandise, and even personal experiences. 

Lansing and Pomerantz started The Players Trunk with former University of Michigan Men’s Basketball team members Charles Matthews and Zavier Simpson to help them sell their game and practice jerseys, shorts, and footwear. They previously tried to sell the gear on Instagram, but found the process cumbersome and ineffective. 

Fast-forward to July 2020, when Lansing and Pomerantz realized they could turn their side gig into a legitimate business. 

“We didn’t want to be the kids who were just binging Netflix shows or playing Fortnite all day during the pandemic. We wanted to do something meaningful and productive,” Pomerantz said.

“We’ve always had a strong passion for sports, and as game managers we loved working with the team and forming relationships with the athletes,” Lansing added. “There was no better way to combine all those passions and relationships into one thing.”

Lansing and Pomerantz, who were both equipment managers for the Michigan Men’s Basketball team, used  their connections and relationships with U-M athletes to build their inventory. They partnered with Matthews and Simpson, who helped them source and get in touch with athletes around the country.

Athletes send items to Lansing and Pomerantz, who then catalog it, take photos, upload to the website, and ship it after purchase. Lansing said the goal is to take the hassle away from the athlete.

“They’re not going to want to go to the post office every day and deal with tracking numbers and payments, so we do all that for them,” he said. 

In addition to practice jerseys, game jerseys, and footwear, The Players Trunk has signed autographs, signed custom cards, custom-designed merchandise, and options for video shout-outs and virtual experiences. 

“As we’ve gone along and with the name, image, and likeness [NIL] law passing, we have continued to grow and create things that might not be an athlete’s original gear, like different autographed stuff and different experiences a customer can buy,” Pomerantz said. 

He added the NIL Law will allow current college athletes to monetize some of their own big sporting moments. He recalled talking to a current U-M student-athlete who said the decision to come back to school and play for another year was due to the NIL rule change.