A Last Word on the New NCAA Guidance, an Important Jordan Deal, a City Council Proposes an NIL Fund
Name, Image, Likeness Insider uses proprietary data and expert insights to explain the latest NIL developments.
ONE LAST WORD ON THE NCAA’S ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE
From Student-Athlete Insights May 2022 Survey of 1,050 Student-Athletes
Back on 10/26/22, the NCAA provided a series of clarifications on their NIL interim policy, which I wrote about extensively in last week’s Name, Image, Likeness Insider. One of the key themes of the NCAA’s position is that the role of institutions should be focused on educating student athletes and not on facilitating NIL deals. Based on the data of what student-athletes say they need, I think the NCAA has this one right.
But unsurprisingly, there are those who think removing institutions from being deal-makers is akin to throwing student-athletes to the wolves. They think that schools are best positioned to provide protection for student-athletes. And without that protections of schools on NIL deals, student-athletes will be taken advantage by agents, brands, and advisors.
But here’s the problem with that position, informed by the first 16 months of NIL: as of July 2021, most institutions were not prepared to educate and support their student-athletes. Most did not have an NIL policy, dedicated staff, or infrastructure. And 16 months later, most institutions still don’t have those pieces in place - as one proof point, only around 10% of DI schools have a dedicated NIL Coordinator. I don’t think schools are to blame - putting these resources into place takes time and money and they are facing the constant barrage of distractions that make it difficult to execute a plan to move NIL forward.
According to multiple surveys I’ve completed in the last 6 months, nearly 70% of student-athletes want more education from their institutions. Providing education on NIL rules, personal branding, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and more is the foundation - and it’s what student-athletes say they need! Once that’s in place (and it may take 2-3 years to achieve), institutions would be in a much stronger position to take on additional roles such as NIL deal-facilitator.
JORDAN BRAND SIGNS FIRST NIL DEAL
kiki.rice (Instagram); I’m incredibly grateful to announce that I am joining the Jordan Brand as its first NIL athlete! It’s an honor to join a family that is made up of leaders on and off the court… lets get to work!! @jumpman23
In what I think is a very important deal, the iconic Jordan Brand signed its first NIL deal with UCLA women's basketball player Kiki Rice. In a duel press release, the brand and Rice indicated that their partnership will include helping Rice serve to improve gender equity in sport for young girls. Kiki Rice was a McDonald's All-American, the Naismith High School Player of the Year and the MaxPreps National Female High School Athlete of the Year.
So why do I think this deal is important?
A year ago, I wrote about the University of Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers becoming Gatorade’s first college student-athlete to sign an endorsement deal. Bueckers joined Serena Williams and Lionel Messi on the Gatorade roster that includes some of the most elite athletes in the world. But the significance of the Bueckers-Gatorade partnership was not just its dollar value (financial terms were not disclosed.) Rather the importance was in signing a deal with Gatorade - a sports marketing operation that is among the most sophisticated in the world. Rice’s Jordan deal falls within the same category and that’s exciting for many reasons. First and foremost, it’s an indicator that sophisticated sports industry brands see the sponsorship value in NIL. Second, brands like Jordan have the infrastructure to activate an athlete sponsorship like Rice’s - across digital, broadcast, events, and retail - like few brands can.
Simply put, these kind of deals move NIL forward.
PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL PROPOSES NIL FUND
Ahead of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s vote next month on whether to permit NIL at the high school level, Council member Isaiah Thomas of Philadelphia has proposed a bill called the “Philly NIL Youth Protection Fund,” to pay for legal help for high school athletes who do NIL deals. The bill fund would be $100,000 for to up to five hours of legal and financial representation for student-athletes. According to several news reports, the bill would also require the city to distribute educational materials to student athletes.
This is possibly not a bad idea, but a few considerations that Philadelphia might to consider:
According to national Student-Athlete Insights survey data, 74% of high school prospects (those who intend to play in college) have an interest in NIL
College student-athlete data is similar (about three quarters of student-athlete say they are interested), but only around 18-20% actually pursue and land NIL deals (we don’t have high school data to compare yet, but there is evidence to suggest that high school numbers will be smaller than the college percentages)
It’s easy to get caught up in the news about the “NIL mega-deals”, but most deals are small; the media NIL deal at the college level has been about $65 and takes a student-athlete about 3 hours to complete
There is no question that high school athletes in states that permit high school NIL should be provided educational tools or support. But it’s equally important that those tools match the realities of what we know about NIL at this point.
Bill teaches NIL in College Sports at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business. He consults with brands, universities, and sports organizations on Name, Image, and Likeness - and provides on-demand courses for parents, athletes, coaches & administrators. Bill’s a SportsBusiness Journal Forty Under 40 Award winner and former co-founder of the athlete & event marketing agency Fuse, which he operated for 20+ years before selling in 2019.