What started as a comforting road companion for college football’s busiest broadcaster has turned into a full-blown media career. Long before fans began spotting golden retrievers on set, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit brought his dogs along to handle relentless Saturday travel. Now, his 2-year-old golden retriever, Peter, has officially entered the endorsement game, scoring a brand deal ahead of the 2026 season that puts him front and center for fans across the country.
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Car rental giant Hertz announced that Peter is joining their popular “Gold Squad” marketing campaign starting September 1. Legally speaking, dogs cannot sign true Name, Image, and Likeness contracts like college athletes do. But Hertz and their creative agency, Preacher, cheekily packaged the agreement as an “NIL deal” to match the current language of college sports.
“Under the deal, Peter joins Hertz’s ‘Gold Squad,’ a marketing campaign that already features 30 golden retrievers, and he’ll pick up the title of college football prognosticator,” The Athletic’s Ira Gorawora wrote. “Beginning Sept. 1, Peter will predict one of the week’s marquee matchups during “Peter’s Golden Picks,” using a different canine-friendly method each week. Some installments have been filmed in advance; others will follow Peter on the road all the way into the College Football Playoff.”
The campaign is built around a simple concept. Hertz deployed a group of 30 trained golden retrievers to surprise weary travelers in busy airport terminals, offering stress relief before long flights. Adding Peter gives the brand a direct link to millions of college football fans who watch Herbstreit travel from stadium to stadium every weekend.
“Whether it’s a warm welcome from a Golden Retriever or the ease of skipping the counter with Hertz Gold Plus Rewards membership, we’re focused on making every step of the rental experience feel convenient, seamless, and a little more golden,” Kari Birdsall, the company’s Vice President, Operations Excellence, said.
While the figures of Peter’s deal remain undisclosed, he will be hosting a series on social media every week, “Peter’s Golden Picks”. During the series, he will make predictions on the week”s most thrilling games beginning from September 1st. The details of what the series entails are still unclear, but September 1st is only weeks away.
Kirk Herbstreit’s comments
Peter became popular in the college football world after the death of his brother, Ben Herbstreit, Kirk’s former golden retriever. He became Kirk’s company on his road trips during the college football season and has been shown so much love by fans, coaches, players, and mascots.
“Peter and I spend most of football season traveling together, so joining the Hertz Gold Squad feels like a perfect fit,” Herbstreit said in a press release. “I’m proud of him. I just hope signing this major deal doesn’t go to his head. Now we’ll see if his game picks are actually any good, he’s actually got a pretty good nose for these things.”
Kirk had even involved Peter in his BookCameo side gig, where he was giving personal shoutouts to people for a $200 fee. Peter joined him, alongside his other dogs, Mitch and Beau, in sending his shoutouts.