USC athletics partners with cannabis company Cookies in groundbreaking sponsorship deal

The USC Trojans have announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Cookies, a cannabis and wellness company based out of California , according to Business Wire . No other program has partnered with a cannabis company, which makes this a unique sponsorship deal for the Trojans.

Cookies will partner with the football team, as well as the men's and women's basketball teams. In a statement, Cookies CEO Berner said the company is thrilled to work with one of the most iconic athletic departments in the state.

"Cookies is thrilled to be a sponsor of USC Athletics for the upcoming 2024/2025 season," Berner said in a statement. "California is our home state and for Cookies to be involved with a premier athletic program, in the oldest private college in the state of California, is incredibly exciting for us. We are honored and excited to be a sponsor and Trojans supporter alongside other globally recognized brands. Fight on!"

Vice President and general manager of USC Sports Properties, Drew DeHart, highlighted Cookies' "innovative brand" as a big reason for the partnership.

"With the decision to open this category, it was our goal to find the right partner for USC Athletics, and we did just that with Cookies. Cookies is the global leader in CBD but also an innovative brand deep in life-style culture and wellness," DeHart said. "We are excited for the Trojans to be a leader in collegiate athletics on and off the field, and today's announcement continues to showcase just that."

Earlier this year, the NCAA announced that it would be removing cannabis from the banned substance list. When it first recommended the removal , the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports noted that cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug.

"Cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm-reduction approach to cannabis is best implemented at the school level," the committee said.

Now that USC has announced this deal, it will be interesting to see how many more athletic departments follow suit.