​Last year, Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke wore a Q-Collar as he sought to better protect himself from concussions. He now has an NIL deal with the company.Heinecke and Notre Dame linebacker Drayk Bowen are the latest additions to Q-Collar’s NIL athlete roster, the brand told On3. Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy came on board last month, as well. All three will wear the Q-Collar during game action.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement[ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ]As he researched ways to protect himself from the hard hits that can occur on the football field, Heinecke recalled seeing NFL players wear Q-Collars. That led him to do the same, and he now has an NIL deal with the company.“I saw Dalton Kincaid for the Buffalo Bills, I saw him wearing it, and a couple other people,” Heinecke told On3 via Zoom. “Then, I also played lacrosse and in lacrosse, it’s becoming more mainstream to wear Q-Collars, as well, with all the head impacts. So I had a little exposure to it.“I did some researching on my own and figured it was something that I was really wanting to invest in. So I decided to try it out and it’s been a great process.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHeinecke, along with Bowen, join a growing group of athletes to partner with Q-Collar. NFL stars such as Kincaid, Sauce Gardner, Byron Murphy and Tony Pollard have also agreed to deals with the company.SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business NewsletterThrough the partnership, Owen Heinecke will help promote brain health and safety via social media posts. In the process, he noted the ability to educate the younger generation about better protecting themselves on the football field.“I was really grateful that Q-Collar reached out because I was going to wear the Q-Collar regardless [of] if they wanted to pursue a deal or not,” Heinecke said. “There are a handful of people in the NFL and a couple people that are in college that are starting to wear it that are recognizable names. It was something that I was really wanting to try out.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I’ve had a great experience with it. I feel like it’s really helped. To be somebody that might be able to influence the younger generation into being more proactive about protecting their brains, I’m excited to do that.”