- The student-athlete name, image, and likeness, or NIL, industry has become a big business.
- College players are fielding an influx of offers from collectives, brands, agents, and licensees.
- Here are 20 firms helping athletes navigate NIL work, from dealmaking to education to compliance.
College sports have dramatically transformed in the last two years since the introduction of name, image, and likeness, or NIL, monetization for student-athletes.
Millions of dollars in advertising spend and licensing deals, once reserved for colleges and universities, are now starting to trickle down to players. The NIL business is still in its infancy, changing month to month as new businesses and ways to make money enter the field.
“It really is the first inning here of a nine-inning game, and rules are pretty wide open right now,” said Bill Jula, whose company Postgame helps athletes join influencer-marketing campaigns for big brands.
At first, student-athletes leaned into marketing activities like autograph signings or social-media promotions. Some did Instagram posts in exchange for free products from brands. Others filmed shout-out videos for a fee using platforms like Cameo. Players with greater stardom from their large social-media audiences or participation in widely followed sports like college basketball earned the most.
But that was just the beginning. Student-athletes now earn the bulk of their NIL cash from a new category of funder called collectives.
Collectives are booster club-like fundraising organizations that have popped up around most major universities. Some of these groups pay student-athletes for NIL work in a manner more akin to a salary or retainer than a one-off marketing campaign. The goal of collectives is to drive on-the-field success — and strong collectives can help attract top talent or keep current players on a team for longer.
Student-athletes can earn money from collectives by attending events like autograph sessions and meet-and-greets. Some collectives partner with businesses for endorsement and product deals ranging from food to cars. Another way to make money is by participating in content and storytelling, like the University of Minnesota’s Dinkytown Moms series that interviewed student-athletes and their mothers.
Around 80% of NIL spend, which is projected to hit roughly $1.2 billion in 2023, now comes through collectives, per a report released in June by the NIL software company Opendorse.
In a world where collectives dominate student-athlete compensation and college players are now active participants in an increasingly professionalized industry, a slew of companies have emerged to offer services that help NIL stakeholders follow the rules and get paid.
Some, like The Brandr Group and OneTeam Partners, work on group licensing, helping student-athletes and their teammates make money by having their names and likenesses appear on jerseys or playing cards. Others, like Athliance and FanWord, work with athletic departments on compliance or student-athlete storytelling.
Insider is compiling our second list of leading NIL companies that work across the student-athlete NIL space. We determined this list based on recommendations from industry experts, as well as nominations we received from our audience. We reviewed the ways each company aids student-athletes, universities, or other parties like brands and collectives, as well as how the firms are adapting to an industry that is quickly evolving.
Here are those 20 companies, listed in alphabetical order:
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