Start small. Start genuine. Start with the data.
Start small. Start genuine. Start with the data.
The most common way to start in NIL is also the worst: chase the biggest name, write the biggest check, and hope something sticks.
Why it matters
Three very different groups — brands, athletic departments, and the agents, attorneys, and advisors around them — are all entering NIL at the same time. Most are copying the loudest playbook in the room. But the ones who get traction are showing restraint, authenticity, and using evidence.
If I were a Brand Marketer
Pick the objective before the athlete. Decide what NIL actually solves for you — reach you can't buy, trust you can't fake — before you look at a single roster. The brands that start with names instead of goals end up measuring nothing.
Run one partnership first. A single authentic activation done well teaches you more than a dozen logo-swap deals, and it's the genuine work that moves customers. Treat the first one as a test, not a launch.
Verify the audience yourself. Follower counts are the bot-era influencer trap reborn. Pull engagement and audience overlap before you sign — the right mid-tier athlete who shares your customer beats a bigger name who doesn't.
If I were an Athletic Administrator
Survey your own athletes first. You can't build a strategy on a rival's press release. Start with your own athletes' priorities, not the headlines.
Recruit on the career, not only compensation. A credible head start on life after sport is one advantage you can deliver. Make it concrete: mentorship, real brand work, financial education.
Close the gap between what you promise and what you deliver. Recruiting pitches outrun reality fast, and athletes notice. The departments keeping athletes are the ones that under-promise and follow through.
If I were a Professional Service Provider
Chase the gap, not the glamour. Everyone circles the five-star. The real opening is the underserved middle — athletes with real income and no one advising them.
Lead with honest numbers. Set that expectation early, and you earn the trust the rest of the market keeps breaking.
Own the unglamorous specialty. Taxes, contracts, sudden income — the work that few market is the work this population needs most. Pick one lane and be the name people call for it.
Between the lines
None of these moves makes a press release. That's the point. The part of NIL that gets the most news coverage is the part you have the least control over. The part you can control is unglamorous, evidence-driven, and slow, and it's where the advantage actually sits.
The bottom line
Starting in NIL isn't about doing the most. It's about doing the right small thing first, and building from something real. The data already points to where that is — most people just aren't reading it. That's what the NIL Forum is for.
About the NIL Forum and Bill Carter
The NIL Forum is the advantage for people making NIL decisions — providing monthly live speakers, proprietary data, and networking. NIL Forum Founder Bill Carter 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.