Henry, Ashton, and Hunter Jolly, also known as the Jolly Boys, are the youngest athletes and basketball players to launch their own brand deal with a big company, as reported by Black News. The brothers have teamed up with Chad Briscoe, the founder of Ball By Myself, to launch a redesigned product called the Jolly Strap.
In addition to being the subject of a YouTube mini-documentary titled “No Days Off,” Henry and Ashton, twins, are now ranked #1 and #2 in their class (2032) and have their jerseys on display in the New Orleans Pelicans arena.
Hunter, their younger brother, is the youngest player to have a brand product at the age of seven. He is also ranked #1 in his class (2035).
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Briscoe, a former European professional basketball player, CEO, and product developer, revealed that he has been looking to create something unique in the basketball area. He said that even though many young players are securing NIL deals with large brands, the most important thing — equity — is absent.
He said, “I have been fighting for inclusion in the sports space for over a decade while creating my product, and the most important piece I saw missing was the equity piece.”
According to Black News, there are currently no NBA, WNBA, college, high school, or youth players who own or have equity in a basketball training product, which Briscoe hopes to change. It is anticipated that the market for basketball equipment will grow from $875.22 million in 2022 to $1.29 billion in 2031.
“The basketball space has so much to offer, and since the introduction of NIL, the young (youth) players who have a huge platform and following, need to be at the forefront and the next generation of ownership.”
“We are super excited about our brand partnership with the Jolly Boys, we have created The Jolly Strap for players to be able to train like and be inspired by the Jolly Boys,” Briscoe said. “This product allows players to train anytime and anywhere, building muscle memory through repetition, which is the key to training. We also know that some players cannot afford personal trainers, have anyone to train with, or have access to a hoop court when they want to play or train, but with the Jolly Strap, there are no more excuses.”
“The most impressive thing about these young ballers is that they play up 2 to 3 years and can still dominate,” he remarked.
Even though organizations such as the Golden State Warriors have previously promoted Black-owned businesses like Ball By Yourself®, Briscoe believes it would be even more effective to collaborate with them to sell his company’s goods at the Chase Center or with the Jr. Warriors.
The General Manager of Open Gym Premier Oakland, Sam Moses said, “This is a game-changer for kids to finally be included into this space and recognized on this level is truly amazing, and what Ball By Yourself is doing is historic.”
“We are looking for amazing young ballers to work with as we look to expand into other markets. With our patent, we are currently exploring new product development that will include us in the soccer and volleyball markets. The soccer industry is currently worth over $50 billion annually, and the volleyball market is valued at more than $400 million a year, we feel we can strategically place ourselves right into the mix by creating amazing, innovative products,” he said.
