Erin Matson Does NIL Deal With Chapel Hill Tire and 97.9 The Hill

Two-time ACC and National Field Hockey Player of the Year Erin Matson became the first UNC varsity athlete to complete a Name-Image-Likeness deal with a sponsor for 97.9 The Hill WCHL when she recorded a commercial for Chapel Hill Tire. CHT President Marc Pons was present for Matson’s recording session.

“I follow the team and my daughter is a big field hockey fan,” said Pons. “And it’s good for us because right now Erin is probably the most recognized woman athlete at UNC.”

“I appreciate this so much!” said Matson. “WCHL and Chapel Hill Tire are the first companies to call me.”

Terms of the NIL agreement remain confidential. The commercial will air on WCHL AM/FM through the end of the current calendar year and may run longer.

Matson led the Tar Heels to their third consecutive national championship last spring in the COVID- delayed NCAA tournament. And she is back with the team as the 2021 season gets under way this weekend against Michigan and Iowa in Iowa City as Carolina begins its quest for an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA title.

Matson, senior from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, has been the team’s leading scorer for the last three seasons and was the 2020 recipient of the Honda Sport Award for field hockey and the NFHCA National Player of the Year Award for the second straight season. She was a first-team All-America and ACC Offensive Player of the Year, both for the third year in a row, and the MVP in the NCAA and ACC tournaments, both won by UNC.

Matson, an advertising and public relations major at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, also made the All-ACC Academic Team and was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll and the NFHCA National Academic Squad.

In March of 2021, Matson was named by the ACC Network as one of the top 10 female athletes in conference history. She was ranked No. 10 on a list that also included Carolina soccer greats Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly.

Recently elected captain of the 2021 team, Matson also has a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID rules but has not decided whether to play while she pursues a Master’s degree.

Listen to Matson’s commercial for Chapel Hill Tire below: