EAST LANSING, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – As the college football season continues, two Michigan State football players recently signed a unique name, image and likeness agreement.
Redshirt junior defensive back Armorion Smith and freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh joined forces with HAP caresource.
Detroit natives Armorion Smith and Nick Marsh are living the dream of playing Division 1 football at a high level at Michigan State. But it wasn’t that easy for them to get here.
“It was up and down; it was a roller coaster, that’s the best way I could describe it,” Marsh said.
The past few weeks have been extremely difficult for Smith. His mother died of breast cancer a month ago, and without a father in his family’s life, Smith became the head of the household and legal guardian for his four younger siblings while he was a student-athlete.
“It’s good to be able to take a step further in the position I’m in now and bring my brothers and sisters into it, it feels good as a person, you know, so if I feel like I want to give up, I always fall back on that, as if it were so.” It is mandatory that it has to be done,” Smith said.
In early September, Smith and Marsh signed a NIL agreement with HAP CareSource. I spoke with the president of HAP CareSource, who told me that signing the two Spartans was a no-brainer.
“We thought it was a great opportunity to highlight two great men who work hard to overcome adversity, but who are really a public service announcement for HAP CareSource for people looking for Medicaid insurance,” said Dr . Michael Genord, president of HAP CareSource.
With the platform that both Smith and Marsh have, they hope to use it to target families who may have had similar issues as them, where signing up for Medicaid could be a life-saving decision.
“It’s important to do different NIL deals like this because not too many people know about Medicaid, not too many people know what you need in life, so I think college athletes can reach a lot of people because of the exposure that we have and we can inspire a certain group of audiences,” Marsh said.
“Coming from where we come from, it’s good that we can have an impact on a certain audience of people who want to listen to us just based on who we are. So it’s good to encourage these kinds of things that you need. this world like health insurance,” Smith said.
Two Spartans coming together to impact lives off the field is something to be proud of for two young men, especially one who is using this NIL deal to help support his younger siblings.
“Once I get home, it makes me feel so good to see everyone so happy and comfortable. It’s like I could just hear my mom telling me how proud she is of me,” Smith said.
There is a GoFundMe page for Armorions and his family that has raised nearly $300,000, which will help him care for his younger siblings.
HAP CareSource wants everyone to know that it is a simple process to sign up for Medicaid.
