LOS ANGELES — A new collective has emerged at USC intent on taking the reins of facilitating name, image and likeness deals for Trojan athletes at a university that not long ago viewed the rise of such a third-party group as an existential threat.
That once-contentious approach appears to be shifting with the launch of the Tommy Group, a donor-run collective led by six entrepreneurs with deep ties to USC.
Former Trojan football players Keyshawn Johnson, Alex Holmes and John Terzian, along with prominent businessmen and USC fans David Stromberg, Avi Chesed and Mike Hahn, have teamed up to launch the group, which they say will "tap into each of our professional expertises and personal networks to open up the world of personal branding, commercial deals and beyond to these kids in a major way."
