Increase NIL opportunities for your athletes.
Alleviate your collective's reliance on donations.
Get NIL on the right track at your school.
Review the current NIL landscape and understand why local NIL markets aren't developing on their own.
Ready to take action? We show you how to maximize the return on your efforts by utilizing a full-funnel marketing strategy.
The most time-consuming part of this initiative is creating the necessary assets. We've put in the hours to get you started quickly.
NIL funded by an athletic department's donors was a quick fix to stay competitive but it's becoming increasingly clear that it isn't sustainable (or even a desirable model!) for most universities and their collectives.
Recruiting top talent and then retaining those athletes has become exponentially more complicated in the NIL+ transfer portal era.
They are being asked to donate additional money to an entity (or sometimes multiple!) that isn't associated with the university. Additionally, non-profit status and donation benefits are commonly unclear.
Everything is constantly evolving and admins are tasked with appeasing coaches and maximizing their competitive advantage with staying within the blurry lines of what's permissible.
We're confident commercial NIL markets can, and likely will, exist everywhere sooner or later.
But we're also confident that at this moment, 99% of the businesses that could benefit the most from NIL partnerships have no idea how to get started.
We think supporting them is time well spent. An active NIL market moves everything in the right direction:
Grows participation as more athletes get incoming deal opportunities.
Athletes start prioritizing NIL education now that they have a practical application for the information.
Traffic and activities increase in your NIL marketplace investment.
Your collective becomes less reliant on donation-based NIL.
Brand partnerships with local businesses is where the majority of college athletes can deliver the most value from their NIL.
But business communities surrounding universities have been slow to adopt NIL marketing initiatives. Why? Well, it's a lot for them. The rules are confusing, and their worst fear is inadvertently costing a local athlete their eligibility. Additionally, they may have been previously priced out of sports marketing or never engaged in influencer marketing before - both of which require a thorough understanding of the "how" and "why" before even taking the first step.
Objective: Get business owners and/or those in charge of a marketing budget interested enough in NIL to visit your NIL landing page.
Recommendations: Integrate NIL infographics into your department's outgoing communications, place NIL informational materials in highly trafficked locations, and/or run NIL promotions at games.
GO TO STEP 2
Objective: Build a contact list of businesses that are interested in NIL to provide continued support and relevant NIL updates.
Recommendations: Develop a helpful resource, such as an NIL Playbook for Businesses, that brands can access in exchange for their contact information.
GO TO STEP 3
Objective: Get businesses to feel comfortable and confident with activating their first NIL campaign.
Recommendations: Host an NIL education event, either live or virtually, for your business community.
GO TO STEP 4
Objective: Keep your business community educated, engaged, and thinking about NIL.
Recommendations: Send out regular communications to your NIL business list with successful activation examples, rule/policy updates, and/or additional opportunities for them to get involved.
Step 1: We design tailored & branded NIL assets, including 20+ digital NIL graphics, three informative handouts, and three game day promotions.
Step 2: We provide a 25+ page white-labeled NIL Playbook for Businesses.
Step 3: We host an educational event for your business community.
Step 4: We curate a bimonthly newsletter for brands and businesses and offer discounts to additional NIL Network services.
Our founder has been exclusively studying NIL for three years, including spending a year at SDSU as one of the first full-time NIL admins. Prior to NIL, she coached volleyball at multiple D1s. Safe to say she knows a thing or two about NIL and college athletics.
It's almost impossible to stay up on everything schools are (or aren't) doing when it comes to NIL, especially if it's not your full time job. Bring your questions around anything NIL and we'll do out best to get them answered for you!
We know there's no "one size fits all" when it comes to college athletics and that's even more true when it comes to NIL. We'll discuss where you're currently at and make recommendations tailored to your unique situation.
While we're confident that our services go above and beyond, we know it might not be a good fit or the timing may not be right. And that's fine! We want you to do what makes the most sense for your school.