Beach Volleyball & NIL Opportunities Why NIL is Positioning Collegiate Beach Athletes for Success and May Drive Growth for the Sport A Note From the NIL Network FounderPrior to founding NIL Network, my entire professional background was in beach volleyball. I coached at University of Hawaii, worked for USA Beach Volleyball running the national Olympic development training program, and co-founded a beach volleyball consultancy that specialized in assisting organizations with the continued development of the sport. Since converting from a beach volleyball nerd to a NIL nerd, I’ve realized more and more that my fascination with NIL stems from my experiences with beach volleyball and its athletes. And the more I thought about it, the more I’m confident that NIL is a massive opportunity not only for collegiate beach volleyball athletes with pro aspirations, but also has a potential to elevate the entire sport. Professional beach volleyball is not yet a sustainable career in the United States. And yes, it does hurt me to say that. The athletes are not paid salaries and outside of the podium contenders, our pros have to work 2-3 side hustles to afford to chase their dreams. They are coaching private lessons, training high school teams, and/or working a part time job. On the sponsorship and partnership side, these athletes are generally fending for themselves and learning as they go; Overwhelmingly, this leads to beach pros accepting brand partnerships that are way below market value (think limited product and an ambassador code). When the NCAA changed their bylaws on July 1, 2021, collegiate athletes gained the right to monetize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) without risking their eligibility. This change has the potential to impact almost half a million young adults. However, I think that NIL may be particularly advantageous to collegiate beach volleyball athletes who aspire to go pro. Here’s why:Athlete Education OpportunitiesNIL reform affords beach volleyball athletes the opportunity to navigate sponsorships before they even start pursuing their professional careers. They get access to resources to develop their personal brand, begin to understand the partnership landscape, and can begin developing relationships four years earlier. Personal Brand AssistanceBefore the rise of social media, developing your personal brand was difficult. Outside of Olympians, it was almost impossible for a beach volleyball professional to showcase their off-the-court persona and grow their fanbase. Now with endless opportunities on social media, professional beach athletes that aren’t Olympians have a huge opportunity to strategize on their personal brand, optimize their NIL, and set themselves up for meaningful brand partnerships. The problem? For the average athlete, it takes years and years to organically grow an engaging following. With NIL, collegiate beach volleyball athletes are seeing the impact of a strong personal brand in real time as teammates with developed brands get partnership offers, sometimes regardless of their on-court performance or “rank” on the team. In addition, most athletes are now supplied with resources and tools to grow their own. The majority of institutions with beach volleyball programs have partnerships with either Opendorse or INFLCR, …
