Courtesy of Farnam Realty Group

Thirteen members of the Yale men’s cross country team represented Farnam Realty Group at the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race on Labor Day, in one of the latest sponsorship deals that let Yale student athletes profit from their names, images and likenesses.

For Carol Lopez Horsford, the founder of Farnam Realty Group, the partnership grew out of nearly a decade-long connection between the company’s properties and the track house where many athletes live.

She said the company has owned the house for nearly a decade and sponsored three Yale runners in 2023.

“It made sense to just try to do something bigger this year,” Lopez said in an interview with the News.

The group of thirteen runners wore custom singlets with the slogan “Where Town Meets Gown” across the back, part of a broader Farnam campaign. After the race, the athletes joined children and families at Farnam’s booth on the New Haven Green, signing autographs and running mini games that included a long jump and vertical jump.

Ronan Luff ’27, who lives in the Farnam-owned track house and organized the NIL deal, noted that the Labor Day race showcased the Yale runners’ ties to both youth programs and the program’s alumni.

Runners Tanish Chettiar ’26 and Linde Fonville ’26, the captain of the women’s cross country team, founded a local chapter of the national organization Run Your City, Luff said.

“I had them bring their flyers to the table on Monday, and families stopped by, chatted with them about running and got their kids interested,” Luff said.

The race also drew several of the Yale running program’s alumni back to New Haven. Robert Miranda ’22, a former Yale track star, competed in the 20-kilometer race and signed a professional sponsorship deal with Adidas all on the same day.

Luff said the agreement was months in the making. He initially started thinking about it after he assumed the role of house manager last spring.

“I thought it would be a cool way for the team to connect to the greater New Haven running community,” Luff said in an in person interview with the News, adding that it let him and his teammates “spend our Monday morning on Labor Day running and sharing the sport we all do, while getting a little bit of money for doing that.”

To comply with Yale Athletics and Ivy League policies, Luff worked through the athletics department’s NIL platform, Opendorse, to file paperwork and submit contracts. The 13 participating runners entered the arrangements as individual athletes unaffiliated with Yale.

Yale Athletics spokesperson Colleen Murphy said the deal between Farnam and the runners was an approved NIL deal, which Yale had not helped “in identifying or securing.”

Farnam has previously partnered with former Yale basketball standout Bez Mbeng ’25, last season’s Ivy League Player of the Year.

The thirteen runners, six of whom reside in the Farnam-owned house, jogged the 5-kilometer race rather than competing at full effort. Matthew Schutzbank ’28 said the event also felt different from a typical meet because he got to interact with New Haven residents through the Farnam booth on the Green.

“I’ve never represented a corporate company before with my running,” he said. “But it was fun.”

Luff said he hopes the partnership will continue.

“It was really fun. This is a great example of a way to come together around running, using running as an avenue through which the University can be involved in giving back to the greater community,” he told the News. “The team was excited, and NIL’s intriguing. We’ll see what the future holds.”

Luff finished the 5k in 23 minutes and 8 seconds.