After becoming first NCAA athlete to sign an endorsement deal, Antwan Owens achieves another first

Antwan Owens is the first NCAA athlete to ever sign an endorsement deal. The deal happened in 2021 when he agreed to a sponsorship package with 3 Kings Grooming. The agreement with the black-owned hair product company was signed in a midnight ceremony in New York.

According to Bleacher Report, the amount involved in the deal was unclear but Owens was quoted to have said the deal was something “going to be life changing, generationally life changing.” After being the first NCAA athlete to sign an endorsement deal, he has achieved another historic first. He was named as a member of Forbes’ inaugural 30 Under 30 Atlanta list.

The Georgia Tech graduate was profiled for his company, The Owens Group Consulting, which assists clients, mostly athletes, to strategize on sports, media, tech, and real estate deals. The company, which was founded in 2020, has earned $700,000 in revenue since it was established.

“A lot of these guys are young, and this is their first time in the world of business,” Owens said. “So, they just look for that guidance, and I try to provide it for them.”

Owens connects his clients with artificial intelligence and technology companies although some might assume athletes work with sports brands such as Nike or Under Armour among others.

“Georgia Tech definitely sparked my interest in technology and how technology interacts with the world itself,” Owens said. “But I would say the other half is just being young and innovative because tech is a part of our generation and our era. It has been ingrained in every aspect of our daily lives.”

Also, through his company, Owens helps athletes invest in the startups they partner with to enable them to get involved in the companies’ decisions.

“We want to bring something to the table that’s innovative rather than just being a model or brand ambassador,” he said. “We’re able to have leverage in terms of talking to these companies and seeing where we can fit in in terms of percentage or equity so that we’re actually tied into the company, and we have the best interests of not only ourselves but the partnering company as well.”

Owens is a graduate of Ivan Allen College with a degree in History, Technology, and Society. While in school he had a strong passion for studying geographical data and analyzing the demographic breakdown of areas. The Tallahassee native and Georgia Tech graduate played collegiate football at Jackson State under head coach Deion Sanders.