Henry, Ashton, and Hunter Jolly are three African American siblings who have made history by becoming the youngest basketball players and athletes to sign a brand contract with a major corporation. Known collectively as “The Jolly Boys,” the brothers have teamed up with Ball By Myself founder Chad Briscoe to introduce their own rebranded product, the Jolly Strap.
The twins Henry and Ashton are now ranked first and second in their class (2032), and they are also wearing their jerseys in the New Orleans Pelicans arena. They were also highlighted in the incredible YouTube mini-documentary “No Days Off.”
Hunter, the youngest sibling, is the youngest player to own a brand product at the age of seven. He is also ranked first in his class (2035) and is closely trailing the older brothers’ footsteps.
Former European professional basketball player, CEO, and product developer Chad Briscoe has been working on making a unique contribution to the basketball industry. Since many young players were landing NIL deals with big brands, he saw that the most important component was absent. “I have been fighting for inclusion in the sports space for over a decade while creating my product, and the most important piece I saw missing was the equity piece,” Chad mentioned.
Chad Briscoe intended to modify the present situation where no basketball player in the NBA, WNBA, college, high school, or youth had equity in or ownership of a basketball training product. By 2031, it is anticipated that the basketball equipment market, which was valued at $875.22 million in 2022, will have grown to $1.29 billion. “The basketball industry has a lot to offer, and with the implementation of NIL, the younger players who have a large fan base and platform should lead the way and be the future generation of owners.
Chad comments, “We are super excited about our brand partnership with the Jolly Boys, we have created The Jolly Strap for players to be able to train like and be inspired by the Jolly Boys. This product allows players to train anytime and anywhere, building muscle memory through repetition, which is the key to training. We also know that some players cannot afford personal trainers, have anyone to train with, or have access to a hoop court when they want to play or train, but with the Jolly Strap, there are no more excuses.”
“The most impressive thing about these young ballers is that they play up 2 to 3 years and can still dominate,” he added.
Black-owned companies like Ball By Yourself® have been highlighted by teams like the Golden State Warriors in the past, but Chad believes that collaborating with them to sell his company’s goods at the Chase Center or with Jr. Warriors would have even more of an impact.
Sam Moses, General Manager of Open Gym Premier Oakland, comments, “This is a game-changer for kids to finally be included into this space and recognized on this level is truly amazing, and what Ball By Yourself is doing is historic.”
He continues, “We are looking for amazing young ballers to work with as we look to expand into other markets. With our patent, we are currently exploring new product development that will include us in the soccer and volleyball markets. The soccer industry is currently worth over $50 billion annually, and the volleyball market is valued at more than $400 million a year, we feel we can strategically place ourselves right into the mix by creating amazing, innovative products.”