How NIL Deals and Social Media Shaped The Future For College Athletes
In July 2021, the NCAA approved college athletes to have NIL deals. NIL standing for Name, Image, and Likeness, college athletes had the power to monopolize their own name brand. College athletes have been the face of sports for years and their inability to make money off their skills and fame made it harder for athletes to grow after college outside than just the game.
NILs have allowed athletes to have more than just their sport to play. So many athletes after retirement don’t know what to do because they have played sports all their life. NILs have allowed athletes to make a business and gain business skills early on so they can use those skills later in life after their athletic career. This is why social media is so important for athletes with NIL deals today. According to Bill from Student Athlete Insight, “Although brands are continuing to expand how they are activating student-athletes, social media remains the main tactic in nearly 80% of NIL partnerships.” Social media presence is essential for athletes interested in NILs.
With the majority of NIL deals occurring on social media, according to Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal, the categories below are what the most popular NIL deals for athletes:
influencers, content creation, and brand promotion accounted for 72% of commercial activity by college athletes
Endorsements were second at 10%
Appearances at 7%
Instruction at 5%
Merchandise sales at 4%
Autograph signings at 2%
College athletes are some of the biggest faces of their sports, if not yet, then in the future, and it is essential in starting their brand image now. One thing that social media NIL deals have brought to athletes is their ability to get educated in the process. According to Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal, lots of deals are “deals-of-kind” in fact “35% are deals-in-kind, meaning there’s a trade of some kind.” This means rather than getting paid they get something else in return and a lot of this is education in social media management. If athletes partner with an agency, they are working with some of the best marketers and social media managers in the world and they get opportunities to learn how to grow their brand.
While NILs allow athletes to create their own name in the sport they play, there have been some concerns with them. For example, while from the outside it looks like the athlete has his own choices in the process, when partnering with another brand, athletes must have strict guidelines when posting and mentioning the brand. According to David Hale from ESPN, “NCAA officials, athletic directors and coaches have all offered varying arguments against NIL reform, including concerns about the potential for internal strife between athletes earning significant money and those who don’t, schools subverting the intent of the rules to gain an advantage in recruiting, and individual NIL revenue coming at the expense of donations that might have gone to the school itself.” With the recent ability for college athletes to get NIL deals it makes it hard for smaller named schools and athletes to get the voice and recognition they deserve.
While the future of NIL deals is still being written, the past 2 years have shown a great idea of the potential it has. NIL deals will give college athletes more than just sports to turn to after graduation. So many athletes today focus so much on their sport in college, they don’t know what to do after school. NIL deals provide athletes the resources to build their own brand or join an existing brand and help it grow.
