Name Image and Likeness in College Athletics

This past summer, the NCAA adopted a new policy allowing college athletes to be paid for use of their Name, Image and Likeness (LINK). Especially for big money sports like college football and college basketball, there has been a debate for some time whether athletes should be able to profit off of their name. Since the ruling came down in July 2021 ahead of the previous college football season, many athletes have signed sponsorship deals with local and national brands in order to capitalize off their image and popularity. One of the earliest trends that was observed when the first deals were signed was how it wasn’t just the best or most successful athletes, but rather it was the athletes with the largest social media presence that were commanding the best financial deals. The impact Name, Image and Likeness or NIL is yet to be fully understood as it’s only 1 year old but it’s certainly a new channel that could prove to be really interesting for marketers and a new way to appeal to hyper-local, but extremely loyal fan bases. One interesting business that came out of this  NIL ruling that stuck out to me was a new marketplace that allowed athletes to sign up – and then individuals or companies to go on and essentially pay for a certain level of sponsorship. This NIL marketplace idea is surely going to allow brands to reach new and unique audiences but also give athletes a chance to finally benefit from the use of their name.