As the University of Tennessee football team wrapped up its training camp, Peyton Manning sent each player a pair of custom Tennessee-themed Beats by Dre headphones. Each set featured the school’s “UT” logo and checkerboard accents.
Manning made his gift known through a video message directed to the Volunteers’ program, sharing encouragement for the season ahead. The message was posted by Tennessee Football’s official social media channels.
“To the 2025 Tennessee Volunteers, the work you’ve put in all year has prepared you for the season ahead,” Manning said. “Now is the time that hard work pays off. Challenge yourselves and demand nothing but the best from each other. Hope these help you tune out the noise and focus on the team. Go Vols.”
This gesture comes as part of Beats by Dre’s third annual “Beats Elite” name, image, and likeness (NIL) activation, where nine collegiate athletes signed deals with Beats by Dre and distributed custom headphones to their teams. Players from Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, Texas, Oregon, Florida, Oklahoma, and South Carolina also took part in this initiative.
The donation arrives just over a week before Tennessee begins its football season against Syracuse on Aug. 30.
Head coach Josh Heupel announced during training camp that Joey Aguilar earned the starting quarterback position after competing throughout camp with Jake Merklinger.
“First of all, that entire room competed at a really high level,” Heupel said. “They competed the right way, too. They pushed each other in a positive way in the meeting room, out on the practice field. I think our team has great confidence in all of those guys.(…)Joey, through the course of training camp each and every day, continued to grow and take steps and understand what we’re doing and comfort level. Played well in the scrimmages, had good command, and that ultimately led to the decision that we made.”
The Vols look ahead to their upcoming season with new leadership on offense and added support from an alumnus known for his commitment to both team performance and school spirit.
