PHILADELPHIA, PA — Datavault AI Inc. (Nasdaq: DVLT) signed former Major League Baseball pitcher Dwight “Doc” Gooden as a brand ambassador for its planned NILv exchange, adding another retired athlete to a platform designed to track and distribute revenue generated from name, image and likeness content.
Under the services agreement, Gooden will produce at least 10 original videos, participate in promotional activity and receive a share of revenue attributed to his content.
Datavault AI will provide onboarding, operational support, activity tracking and revenue-share administration for Gooden’s work on the platform.
The agreement advances the company’s effort to extend name, image and likeness monetization beyond college athletics to retired players and other public figures whose careers predated the current NIL market.
Gooden reached the major leagues at age 19 and won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1984. He won the pitching Triple Crown and Cy Young Award the following season, becoming the youngest player to receive the honor.
The four-time All-Star recorded 194 victories and 2,293 strikeouts during 16 major league seasons. He also threw a no-hitter for the New York Yankees in 1996, and the New York Mets have retired his No. 16.
Datavault AI Chief Executive Officer Nathaniel T. Bradley positioned Gooden’s career and continuing public recognition as a test case for the platform’s revenue-attribution model.
“We want athletes to hold generatable, auditable stake in what their name, image and likeness generates,” Bradley stated. “Gooden is the kind of participant who lets us show what that looks like rather than describe it.”
Datavault AI is developing NILv to measure audience engagement with licensed content and allocate related revenue to participating rights holders, rather than relying solely on one-time licensing payments.
The company cited Opendorse projections estimating the broader NIL market will reach $2.75 billion during the 2025-26 academic year and $3.15 billion by 2028-29. The estimates primarily reflect the college athletics market, while Datavault AI plans to pursue athletes and public figures outside that system.
Gooden is joining NILv before its commercial launch. Datavault AI expects to add more ambassadors and content agreements as development continues.
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