Navigating NIL: The athletes
Editor’s note: This is part three of a five-part series looking at the intricacies and practices of the NCAA’s new Name, Image and Likeness Policy approved last year.
INDIANAPOLIS (BVM) — If one is a fan of college athletics, they’ve likely already seen the advantages of NIL taking place for the student-athlete. Sometimes this can be things on a smaller scale like a fan who follows a student-athlete that tweets either a sponsored ad or a deal about their NIL partnership, like Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball guard Trent Frazier did with Health Alliance.
I’m proud to partner with @health_alliance and announce that 2022 Open Enrollment is happening now. You have until January 15 to switch your health insurance coverage to something better. https://t.co/aJ6LS1Mnec #OpenEnrollment #HealthAlliance pic.twitter.com/SN04XlIaGZ
— Trent Frazier (@trentfrazier) November 17, 2021
Perhaps even if one is not a fan, they’ve seen an NIL in the works. Such was the case with University of Connecticut women’s basketball guard and former No. 1 recruit Azzi Fudd, who appeared on a nationally televised TikTok commercial alongside former NBA great Allen Iverson.
Yes, it is highly likely that if one is around college sports, or in some cases even not, one has seen something regarding a student-athlete and a new NIL deal. So what does this mean for athletes? How does this ruling truly benefit them?
“It is about what the student-athletes can do for themselves and what they want to create for themselves,” University of Illinois Athletics NIL Director Kameron Cox said. “‘It is up to me to decide if that is something I want to do or is that something I want to pursue. What are the limitations of that? What does it make sense for me to do?’…Stuff like that is all up to them, but that’s all part of being a young person becoming a full adult.”
The biggest and most obvious benefit is financial compensation today. Back before the NCAA’s ruling, student-athletes were not able to make money based on their “celebrity” as it would violate league rules. So in the cases where an athlete has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, they could not benefit from using their platform to advertise for a company for monetary gain. However, this has all changed and has impacted some athletes more than others.
“I think it impacts us in a great way because it gives the brands and the students a first hand experience with the company that they’re using,” University of Kentucky track athlete Masai Russell, who has the biggest social media following of any UK athlete, said. “I’ve promoted a lot of brands and companies I organically used prior to doing a partnership with them so I think it’s very cool for the athlete and the brand to connect with us athletes. It’s just a new space and it’s different…so I think it’s a good two-way partnership.”
In addition to Russell’s numerous deals including with the WWE, there are more deals for major Division I athletes like former No. 1 football prospect quarterback Quinn Ewers’ deal with GT Sports Marketing, UConn women’s basketball sophomore standout Paige Bueckers’ deal with Gatorade or Hailey Van Lith’s deal with Octagon sport agency, which likely pays each athlete significant money for their services.
“It sounds kind of funny, but this is a real business. This is a real job,” Russell said. “I’ve had so many monetary benefits that have come just from the NIL so I’m like ‘y’all don’t understand.’ So I’ll definitely be pursuing [being a social media influencer].”
However, even athletes with a much smaller playing profile have been able to benefit.
Take for example perhaps the most utilized college athletes of the NIL era, Haley and Hanna Cavinder. The Cavinder sisters, twin basketball players for Fresno State University, are not well-known nationally for their exploits on the court, with the biggest award between the two being Haley’s 2021 Mountain West Player of the Year honor. This isn’t to say they are bad athletes, but it is more likely that the duo’s combined 3 million-plus followers on TikTok alone have made the two some of the most sought after athletes for NIL deals. This has turned out to benefit the Cavinders as they’ve turned their social media popularity into deals with Eastbay, Boost Mobile and more.
Shoutout to @Gopuff and @Opendorse for supporting student athletes across the country! #GopuffPartner. Use code CAVINDER to get $25 off your first order on https://t.co/fe2eUajemC 💙! pic.twitter.com/HgV9lCQwnQ
— Haley Cavinder (@CavinderHaley) July 2, 2021
Other examples of this come from athletes with even smaller social media followings, but that doesn’t change the impact their NIL has on a company. Take for example Alabama women’s wheelchair basketball player Bailey Moody. Despite her only having just over 1,500 followers on Instagram, the deodorant brand Degree partnered with Moody and 13 other athletes whose inspiring backstories encouraged others to break their own limits to launch the #breakinglimits initiative. According to Opendorse and Front Office Sports, the campaign generated 199 earned media placements for Unilever which led to 1.1 billion media impressions and 3 million social media accounts reached, proving major brands could generate engagement and return on investment (ROI) without relying only on athletes from the major money-earning sports.
There’s even more benefit for the student-athlete as their NIL deals can also be used towards goodwill and charity work. There are a number of examples of this, such as Ohio State offensive lineman Harry Miller creating an online store to sell clothing apparel with his personal logo on it with 100% of the proceeds going towards his non-profit M4N, or Mission for Nicaragua, helping kids specifically at a school in Los Brasiles, Nicaragua.
Virginia Tech offensive lineman Brock Hoffman used one of his NIL deals to provide backpacks to schools in need, with each backpack adorned with his logo on it. Even Oklahoma quarterback commit Nick Evers recently announced an NIL deal with Make-A-Wish where 100% of proceeds raised will go to the organization.
🚨NIL Partnership Alert 🚨
Hoping to impact kids meaningfully by having 100% of the proceeds go to Make-A-Wish!
If you feel lead, join me at: https://t.co/pKHJ6dzAWS or https://t.co/e8TOrMR2HR pic.twitter.com/JZwq0Ci1l7
— nicco (@NickEvers12) January 5, 2022
While some athletes have been quick to embrace the movement and businesses have as well, people believe that the NIL movements will only grow from here, especially for lesser known players and teams.
“Things like [running camps and having mentorship opportunities] aren’t going to be life-changing money, but they’re good for building their entrepreneurship skills and to build their [sports] fansmanship,” San Diego State University Name, Image, and Likeness Coordinator Michelle Meyer said. “All the national press has been talking about national brands, million dollar deals, here’s a car, etc., and for 99% of athletes they’re going ‘Maybe NIL isn’t for me because I don’t have a million followers on Instagram and I’m not getting a car,’…I think that deterred a lot of athletes outside the 0.1% out of the top [in the first six months].”
While companies and institutions are still finding their footholes to make the NIL deals work legally, it is clear that the athletes are finally benefiting from their own names, images and likenesses to generate profit, whether for themselves or for those who need it. In the meantime, it doesn’t appear as though the NIL era will come to an end anytime soon.
Click here for part 1: What is the NCAA’s policy and who does it impact
Click here for part 2: Issues and their implications
Click here for part 4: The coaches
