Deestroying, Onetime College Football Kicker Turned YouTuber & NFL Partner, Teases Plans To Give Viewers “Crazy Access” To The League As It Revamps Sunday Ticket Package
05.08.2023 - 17:11
/ deadline.com
Donald De La Haye Jr., aka Deestroying, started making YouTube videos well before earning a football scholarship as a kicker at the University of Central Florida. His path took a number of surprise turns before he found himself sharing a stage with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell — not as a draft pick but as a partner with the league as it enters new digital territory.
As Deestroying’s videos started gaining traction and generating income in the 2010s, the era just before “name, image and likeness” (NIL) rules changed the game for college athletes, NCAA officials gave him a choice. “They told me, ‘Hey, you can’t make money from your content while you’re a college athlete. You either need to delete your channel and donate the money back, or you’ll forfeit your eligibility. Or, just keep doing what you’re doing and you can no longer be a college football player,'” De La Haye, 26, told Deadline in an interview.
While it wasn’t the easiest of choices, he took the latter path.
Today, the Deestroying channel has 5.3 million subscribers and a burgeoning relationship with the NFL, which is leaning into the destination’s fervent, young-skewing following as the league deepens ties with YouTube. The Google-owned video giant is the new home of Sunday Ticket, which is available either as a stand-alone or as an add-on for YouTube TV subscribers.
RELATED: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Says Sunday Ticket Move To YouTube Is “Only The Beginning” As League And Tech Giant Deepen Ties
De La Haye remembered seeing “a whole lot more potential” in YouTube compared with his future as a player. “It just made me happier,” he said. “I had a lot more passion and a lot more love.”
The positive vibes have has been evident in this summer’s start to