How Does an Athlete Conquer the NCAA NIL Era

Power to the players:

Despite these issues and many others that are yet to be resolved, the birth of NIL is the first shift in the power dynamic between athletes, programs, and the NCAA. Ultimately, it creates the question of how current and former athletes can use their new position of power to exploit this new business landscape, maximize NIL valuation, and achieve the ideal balance between sport-related and business-related opportunities. 

Collegiate sports in the U.S. have been profitable for decades. In 2019, the NCAA overall generated nearly $19 billion in revenue. Media rights and ticket sales specifically combined for $5.45 billion in revenue, both of which would be impossible without the athletes’ on-field performances. These figures were a large driving force for athletes to successfully pursue the rights to profit off their NIL, as mentioned. Ultimately, an individual athlete’s contribution to their program's earnings goes hand-in-hand with the publicity they may gain from the program or sport they are involved in. Both parties can now reap the benefits of this business relationship, rather than just the organizers. 

The opportunity extends beyond the reputation, visibility, and profitability associated with the NCAA and collegiate programs, however. It is also largely associated with a growing creator economy and the relevance of social media in the U.S.

Athletes can grow their brand and boost their NIL valuation by utilizing social media and creating content. According to a study done by Forbes, the creator economy has grown to a $150+ billion economy since COVID, with Goldman Sachs estimating it to be worth more than half a trillion dollars by 2027. 

The growth of digital media, especially since COVID-19, has come with the high usage of the internet and mobile devices by younger generations. According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, 46% of US teens ages 13-17 said they are "almost constantly" online and 47% of parents said they spend too much time on their phones. The combination of this market size with college athletes being in a unique position to create content, the new NCAA policy, and the demand for digital media is how an athlete can build their image on social media and increase NIL valuation. 

Alongside increasing NIL valuation with a social media presence, an online platform can provide direct promotional opportunities with third parties. According to an exhaustive survey of 1,100 Division I athletes by Professor Bill Carter at the  University of Vermont, the social media category—influencers, content creation, brand promotion—accounted for 72% of commercial activity by college athletes. “Outside of the team NIL collectives, brands and companies reached out to me and we collaborated through social media,” said TCU football player Caleb Fox.

Negotiating and seeking commercial opportunities with third parties is essential for college athletes. “Anything around campus I went in and talked about a potential deal myself, or my agent would call around the Fort Worth Dallas area to find NIL deals,” Fox said. Actively seeking deals outside of Flying T Club, TCU’s NIL collective, helped Fox continue to grow in this landscape. Reaching third parties is especially true for athletes at mid-major schools or playing smaller-scale sports, to profit from their NIL.  

Despite not receiving money from the school’s NIL fund and having less leverage in comparison to athletes at more popular schools or playing a sport with higher profit margins, Darko was able to capitalize on multiple deals. “One of my partner companies was NIL Elite, which made t-shirts for me to sell, alongside Elixir, which is a recovery clinic,” Darko said. The deal with Elixir began as a social media advertising agreement, but was re-negotiated to a referral-based model for Darko to profit.

It was a similar case for Houston soccer player Alexis Fowlkes, as she navigated transferring to Houston directly for the fit with the program from a player development standpoint. Despite not receiving any share of the athletic department’s NIL fund,  she also eventually collaborated with outside companies from a promotional standpoint.