NIL NETWORK INSIGHTRecap: Dylan Harringer gives an overview of what it is to be a social media influencer and how top-tier athletes could monetize their following when the NIL legislation is in place. He mentions that the analysis excluded top networks such as YouTube and TikTok. Lastly, there is an example of universities partnering with companies that will assist their athletes.Observations: The comparison of NIL monetization to the minimum salaries in the NFL and WNBA is very interesting and shows the potential financial implications of this legislation for top-tier athletes. However, the majority of collegiate athletes will get much more modest partnership and endorsement deals.Athlete Tips & Takeaways:Take a look at your social following across the different channels and calculate your generic $/post. However, keep in mind that when partnering with brands, they will look at more than just your number of followers! Build your following across different channels with real people who want to engage with you. Identify why people follow you and build a strategy to reach more people like them. by Dylan HarrigerOctober 20, 2020Not long ago, the idea of NCAA athletes as social media influencers was far fetched because student athletes couldn’t profit off of their name, image, or likeness. Now, after a decade of court cases, and a promising NIL Bill, this seems imminent.Specifically, NCAA athletes could soon be able to work as social media influencers for numerous companies and brands. Social media influencers are defined as, “people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic. They make regular posts about that topic on their preferred social media channels and generate large followings of enthusiastic, engaged people who pay close attention to their views.”Essentially, popular NCAA athletes that have a large following on social media would be able to enter into agreements with companies and brands to promote its products. For example, Trevor Lawrence, Quarterback of the Clemson Tigers, has 123,000 followers on Twitter. Lawrence has another 558,000 followers on Instagram for a total of 681,000. Hypothetically, he could enter into an agreement with Head & Shoulders and use his social media platform to influence his followers to use its products. FiveThirtyEight estimates that Lawrence could stand to make a whopping $11,371 per post with total earnings of $454,855. This is nearly the NFL’s rookie league minimum of $480,000.It doesn’t stop there, Lawrence isn’t even the highest-valued athlete. Paige Bueckers, a freshman on UCONN’s Women’s Basketball team holds that honor… READ MORE
