How Athletes Benefit from NIL

When most people hear “NIL,” they usually think of the money associated with it. While it has been long overdue that student-athletes are allowed to be equitably compensated off their reputation and performance without jeopardizing their athletic eligibility, the sole perception that NIL (“Name, Image, and Likeness”) is just about money overlooks all the other great ways high school and college athletes can leverage NIL to better themselves.

Thanks to NIL, today’s athletes have a unique opportunity to prepare themselves for life after sports while they’re still playing. Because no matter how great an athlete is, or told he/she is, the day when their playing days are over will come and they will have to ask themselves, “so, what’s next?” Now, athletes can pick up practical life skills and experiences well before it’s time to pivot into their next careers.

At its core, NIL is all about personal empowerment for young athletes.

Below are the main ways athletes can utilize NIL to better themselves, although there are constantly new and creative ways that athletes have discovered to make NIL work for them.

Grow Personal Brand

Your personal brand is how you differentiate yourself based off the values important to you, and the impact you want to make. A compelling personal brand doesn’t just help athletes land NIL opportunities, but helps them in all their personal and professional interactions.

Successfully navigating NIL requires athletes to thoughtfully figure out what their personal brand is, and how they want others to perceive them. This allows them to better stand out and resonate with others by demonstrating the value they can deliver, whether it’s with a brand, their followers, or a prospective employer. A strong personal brand is the greatest asset an athlete can have, and it gives them the foundation they need to pursue their post-athletic aspirations.

Earn Extra Cash

If you follow NIL, you typically see the large headline-grabbing NIL deals that some top athletes are signing. However, these substantially sized deals represent maybe 5% of all NIL deals and don’t depict the reality of NIL for the vast majority of athletes. For the other 95% (and honestly, it’s probably closer to 99%), NIL deals usually involve some combination of $50-100 for a social media post, a gift card, or free product. Not lavish by any means, but still better than not being allowed anything.

Partaking in NIL can be likened to having a part-time job (many of the same lessons such as hard work and time management are learned). Between training and school, many athletes don’t have the time to take on a part-time job. This is where NIL can step in. As it relates to high school athletes, they can use this extra cash to help pay for recruiting camps/trips, gas money, or just some spending money to go hang out with friends.

Start Building Towards Financial Future

Instead of using their NIL compensation for spending money, athletes can decide to put their money towards a long-term focus. Whether it’s to help them start/grow a savings fund, apply money towards college, start investing, etc., NIL is a great avenue for athletes to put into practice healthy financial habits, learn about key financial concepts, and set personal financial goals.

Market Their Unique Self

For many athletes, their personal brand has nothing to do with them being an athlete or with sports. Maybe it’s a love for cooking or traveling, being involved in their community, etc. Through NIL, athletes can use their athletic reputation and platform to build a loyal/niche following of people who share similar interests and goals. Being able to still profit and grow their brand while not having to be about sports 24/7 allows athletes to establish a healthy life-balance for themselves and get a better feel for their full and true selves.

Develop Entrepreneurial and Business Skills

With NIL, young athletes essentially become their own CEO: “the CEO of Me, Inc.” They are their own business. Their personal brand is their business. Thinking this way enables them to develop an entrepreneurial mindset with hands-on business practice. They learn the importance of building a unique service (their personal brand), growing customers (their audience/followers), networking and forming professional relationships (brands/partners), how to read and negotiate contracts (deals), and managing money (compensation). Some even eventually hire their own professional teams (managers, videographers, content creators, etc.) to help them grow, and literally become a CEO.

Secondly, compensation from NIL deals doesn’t have to mean tangible cash. Some athletes have structured deals so that their compensation is a short-term internship or something similar with a business or industry that they’re interested in. These unique agreements allow athletes to get early exposure to different industries and jobs to feel out where their passions might lie, and help them start planning their next steps. NIL also allows young athletes to build relationships with influential leaders of the brands and businesses they work with that they can leverage after their playing days.

Make a Social Impact

Athletes can also use their NIL to help out others. It can be as simple as using their reputation to partner and raise awareness for a cause they are passionate about, holding a camp for younger athletes, donating a portion of their earnings to a charity, or setting up their own non-profit and using donations as their “compensation.” Athletes, in particular, understand the importance of having a strong support system, which is why so many are passionate about giving back to the communities and people who helped inspire and encourage them.

At its core, NIL is all about personal empowerment for young athletes. It’s about allowing these athletes to feel confident in their own skin and to utilize sports to take them to new heights in life. In just the few years NIL has been around, there’s been countless of athletes who have done just that in some really cool and creative ways (here and here). NIL might not be for every athlete, and that’s perfectly fine. What truly matters is that every athlete now has the opportunity to live and achieve the success beyond sports that they want.