5 Data Points that Separate NIL Fact from Fiction
If you have read my newsletter for the last 3 years or follow me LinkedIn, you know I often provide data and insights that clarifies NIL fallacies. Today’s newsletter is no exception, as I’ve chosen 5 of the most misunderstood and mis-used data in hopes of building an army (including you!) of knowledgable coaches, administrators, and other professionals.
85% of NIL is social media influencer marketing
The success of student-athletes as social media influencers has proven to be one of the most positive outcomes of NIL’s first few years.
85% of all NIL activity is social media influencer marketing and shows no signs of slowing down, due in large part to their exceptional engagement rates.
Engagement rate is the level of interaction on a social media post relative to the number of followers.
For traditional social media influencers, an Instagram engagement rate between 1-3% is considered average. A brand is ecstatic when their social media influencer’s engagement rate exceeds 3%.
Student-Athletes have an average engagement rate of 5.5%.
As long as the engagement rates of student-athletes continues to hold steady - and their follower counts grow - social media influencer marketing will continue to dominate NIL activities.
77% of women athletes think their NIL opportunities are tied to their physical appearance
I know, I know, I know - it’s en vogue to say how great NIL has been for women athletes. There’s no doubt NIL has been great for a few well-deserving women like Caitlin Clark, Livvy Dunne, Angel Reese, and others.
Among the concerns I have with this narrative is its impact on psyche women athletes.
Here’s some additional insights worth considering:
81% of women athletes say their NIL opportunities are limited as compared to male athletes (if they go to a school supported by a Collective, they are probably correct.)
77% of female athletes agreed with the statement: “NIL opportunities for women are tied more to physical appearance than athletic performance.”
Their male athlete counterparts agree - 71% of male student-athletes agreed with the same statement (“NIL opportunities for women are tied more to physical appearance than athletic performance.”)
Only 6% of student-athletes use professional service providers
According to the NCAA's NIL guidelines, student-athletes are allowed to hire Professional Service Providers to assist with securing or managing NIL activities.
Professional Service Providers include agents, tax advisors, marketing and social media consultants, attorneys, and brand management companies.
Despite NCAA rules that allow student-athletes to use Professional Service Providers, few do.
There are probably many reasons for this, but the main one is financial.
Most NIL deals are relatively small - there are far more $100 opportunities to post on their social media than there are $200,000 endorsement deals.
Considering that most agents charge 15% or more and attorneys regularly charge $300+ per hour, a $100 NIL opportunity does not justify their use.
51% of student-athletes are looking for networking, not $
The first thing many of us think of when someone says “NIL” is money.
But a little more than half of student-athletes take a long-term view of NIL - including how it can positively impact their networking opportunities.
NIL networking can result in establishing professional relationships that lead to NIL activities, but it also includes nurturing professional relationships for future career success.
These connections provide valuable insights, advice, and support, helping student-athlete to explore career paths, gain industry knowledge, and secure employment post-graduation.
A few specific benefits to this kind of NIL networking includes:
Tapping into the "hidden job market," where many positions are filled through referrals and personal connections rather than traditional job postings
Learning industry trends, company cultures, and specific job requirements - helping student-athletes to tailor their skills and experiences to match what employers are looking for
Having a professional vouch for a student-athlete’s skills and work ethic, enhancing their chances of securing internships or jobs
The number of sources tracking & publishing NIL earnings data on specific athletes is zero
If you read anything at all about NIL (outside of this newsletter), a large portion of what you’re reading include attention seeking headlines about “athlete X” making “millions.”
Most of those headlines cite valuations, not actual compensation data.
The definition of “valuation” is an estimation of something's worth, usually carried out by a professional appraiser.
An NIL valuation does not mean what a student-athlete has made on NIL deals. It’s an estimate of what they could make. Why? Because the actual student-athlete specific data does not exist or is not public.
The gold standard in professional appraisals in NIL is On3.com. Their valuation, as well as other third parties, does not equal the sum total sum of an individual student-athlete’s NIL transactions.
If it did, that would be something called “actual value.” Actual value is defined as the real worth of something, based on the amount of money someone paid for it on an open and fair market.
So we need to stop publishing (or misrepresenting) lists like, “Top NIL earners in NCAA.”
We do not have data that is of the top earners.
While some state laws and university policies require student-athletes to submit their deal info to their school, most school officials say (off the record) that they think they are collecting info on less than half of the deals being done by their athletes.
Universities are not required to publish the info they collect or share it with the public.
NIL marketplaces like Opendorse collect aggregate data, not individual deal data.
And finally, athletes (and their agents) don’t have a requirement to release the information and brands with athlete marketing experience never do.
So the next time you read a headline about what a student-athlete has made, double check to see if what you are being fed is a valuation or an actual value of an NIL transaction.
About Bill Carter
Bill has advised brands on Name, Image, Likeness for 25 years—first in pro sports, now at the college level. He was the Co-Founder of the Gen Z sports agency Fuse, which he sold in 2019. In 2020, he founded Student-Athlete Insights and consults on NIL strategy with Fortune 500 companies and 30+ DI universities. Read more about Student-Athlete Insights.