Student-Athletes' NIL Survey Results for February 2022

Data Analysis on Laptop

Last week, I completed a study of 1,100 DI student-athletes. The focus was on Name, Image, and Likeness activities, goals, expectations, and more. Here are a few key takeaways.

Nil Activity Distribution

Social Media Dominates

Social Media is continuing to dominate the types of NIL activities that student-athletes are doing. But there is a little more to it than meets the eye. The kinds of social media activities can be further segmented into three types: 1) "social media influencers" where a brand pays a student-athlete to post content, 2) a student-athlete's use of social media to promote their own brand or merchandise, or 3) the use of social media like Cameo to sell content directly to consumers.

Nhl vs Other Sports

Non-Revenue Sports Are Gaining Traction

There is no question that football student-athletes are seeing the most NIL opportunities. But the opportunities for non-revenue sport athletes are creeping upwards (in comparison to my previous studies) and account for nearly 50% of the total. Women's volleyball is holding steady at the #2 position.

Cash vs Contract Deals

Deal Size

The average compensation per student-athlete per activity was $650 (a slight increase sine my last survey.) Not as promising is the fact that the rate of "in-kind" deals rose dramatically. 

Name Image Likeness, NIL, NIL Consulting, NIL EducationBill CarterStudent-Athletes, NIL Data, NIL Research, NIL Deals, NIL Compensation