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What is NIL? A Brand's Guide to Name, Image, and Likeness - Contested

What Is NIL? a Brand's Guide to the Biggest Shift in Sports Marketing

NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) lets college athletes earn money from their personal brand. Learn how NIL works, why it matters for brands, and how to launch athlete partnerships that outperform traditional influencer marketing.

If you've been anywhere near sports media in the past four years, you've heard the acronym. But for most brand marketers, NIL still lives in a fog of legal jargon, NCAA drama, and half-understood headlines.

Here's the simple version: NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness — the legal right of college athletes to earn money from their personal brand. That means endorsement deals, social media partnerships, paid appearances, merchandise, and more. Before July 2021, none of this was allowed. Now it's a market projected to exceed $2.5 billion by the 2025–26 academic year, according to Opendorse's annual NIL market report.

For brands, NIL isn't a sports story. It's a marketing story. And the brands paying attention are getting access to a channel that consistently outperforms traditional influencer marketing on trust, engagement, and cost efficiency.

Let's break it down.

How We Got Here: A Brief History of NIL

For over a century, the NCAA operated under a model of "amateurism" — a system that generated billions in media rights, ticket sales, and licensing revenue while prohibiting the athletes creating that value from earning a cent off their own name.

That began to crack in 2019 when California passed the Fair Pay to Play Act, the first state law explicitly granting college athletes the right to profit from their NIL. Other states followed quickly, creating a patchwork of competing legislation that forced the NCAA's hand.

Two moments changed everything:

June 21, 2021: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the NCAA in NCAA v. Alston, affirming that the organization's compensation restrictions were subject to antitrust law. Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence went further, questioning the legality of the NCAA's remaining restrictions on athlete pay and writing that the NCAA's business model would be flatly illegal in almost any other industry.

July 1, 2021: Days after the Alston ruling, the NCAA adopted an interim NIL policy, allowing nearly 500,000 Division I athletes to begin monetizing their personal brands for the first time.

June 6, 2025: A federal judge approved the landmark House v. NCAA settlement — a $2.8 billion deal that allows universities to directly share revenue with athletes, capped at roughly $20.5 million per school in the 2025–26 season. The settlement also established the College Sports Commission (CSC), a new independent enforcement body overseeing revenue sharing, NIL deal compliance, and roster limits.

The era of amateurism, as it existed for more than a century, is over.

What NIL Looks Like in Practice

NIL deals take many forms. The most common include:

  • Social media endorsements — athletes post branded content to their Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or X accounts
  • Product endorsements — athletes appear in advertising campaigns, commercials, or branded photography
  • Paid appearances and events — athletes attend brand activations, store openings, or community events
  • Autograph sessions and meet-and-greets
  • Merchandise — athletes sell branded products featuring their name or likeness
  • Camps and clinics — athletes host or co-brand training events
  • Licensing — athletes license their name or likeness for use in games, apparel, or other media (EA Sports College Football 25 was a landmark example in 2024)

Here's what makes this different from traditional celebrity or pro athlete endorsements: accessibility. The vast majority of NIL deals are not seven-figure contracts with star quarterbacks. They're partnerships between brands and athletes across every sport, every division, and every competitive level — from the D1 point guard with 50,000 followers to the Division III swimmer with 2,000 deeply engaged local fans.

That's the opportunity most brands are still missing.

NIL by the Numbers

The scale of the NIL market has outpaced virtually every projection made when the policy launched:

Market size: The total NIL market reached an estimated $1.67 billion in 2024–25, up from $917 million in 2021–22 — a growth rate of over 80% in three years. With the House v. NCAA settlement introducing institutional revenue sharing in July 2025, early projections estimate the total market will surpass $2.3 billion in 2025–26 and could reach $2.6 billion by 2027.

Where the money comes from: NIL collectives — groups of boosters and donors that pool funds to compensate athletes — still account for approximately 80% of all NIL spending. Commercial NIL activity (brand partnerships, endorsements, sponsorships) makes up less than 20% of the total market, but that share is growing as more brands enter the space.

Industry breakdown: Technology brands lead commercial NIL spending with roughly 17% market share, followed by apparel and accessories at about 14%. Nonprofits and charities represent nearly 10% of the market — a category that barely existed in traditional influencer marketing.

Earnings distribution: NIL earnings are heavily concentrated at the top. The top 25 Division I quarterbacks can expect to earn over $1.3 million annually when factoring in scholarships, commercial NIL, collective payments, and revenue sharing. But only about 0.3% of college athletes earn over $1 million. Most NIL deals are modest — a reflection of how much untapped potential exists for brands willing to partner with athletes outside the headlines.

Women's sports on the rise: Women's basketball leapfrogged men's basketball in commercial NIL compensation share in 2024, a trend driven by surging fan engagement and the rising profiles of women athletes across multiple sports.

Why Brands Should Care About NIL

If you're a marketer allocating budget to influencer campaigns, paid social, or creator partnerships, NIL deserves serious consideration. Here's why.

Athletes Outperform Traditional Influencers

According to research from OC&C Strategy Consultants, college athlete content generates engagement rates averaging 3x higher than non-athlete influencers. That gap exists for a straightforward reason: athlete audiences are organic, loyal, and emotionally invested. These aren't followers accumulated through viral trends or growth hacks. They're fans — people who care about the athlete's journey, team, and community.

For brands, that translates to higher trust, more meaningful interactions, and better conversion rates than a comparable influencer campaign at the same spend level.

Access to Hyper-Local, Passionate Audiences

Every college athlete is embedded in a specific community — a university, a city, a conference, a sport. That creates targeting precision that's difficult to replicate through traditional influencer channels. A Division II volleyball player in Boise might have 3,000 followers — but those followers are deeply connected to the local market you're trying to reach.

For regional brands, local franchises, or national brands running geo-targeted campaigns, athlete partnerships offer audience alignment that general influencer marketing simply can't match.

Cost Efficiency

The economics are compelling. With 68% of NIL deals valued under $1,000 according to OC&C's analysis, the entry point for athlete partnerships is remarkably low compared to traditional influencer rates. Brands can activate dozens of athletes across multiple markets for the cost of a single mid-tier influencer campaign — and often see stronger results.

Built-In Narrative

Athletes come with stories. Seasons, rivalries, training arcs, draft aspirations, academic milestones — these are built-in narratives that create ongoing content opportunities no brand has to manufacture. When an athlete you've partnered with hits a game-winning shot or earns an academic honor, your brand is part of that story.

Common Misconceptions About NIL

"NIL is only for big brands with big budgets."

The opposite is true. The majority of NIL deals are small, local, and accessible. A coffee shop, a car dealership, a fitness studio — these are the businesses activating NIL partnerships every day. You don't need a six-figure budget. You need the right athlete and the right message.

"Only the top-tier athletes are worth partnering with."

Star athletes command attention, but they're also expensive and overexposed. The real opportunity is in the long tail — athletes with smaller, more engaged audiences who bring authenticity and community credibility that a star athlete often can't. The data consistently shows that micro-creators (athletes with smaller followings) deliver higher engagement rates than their more prominent counterparts, mirroring the broader trend across influencer marketing.

"It's too complicated. Too much compliance risk."

NIL compliance is real — but it's a solved problem when you use the right infrastructure. State laws vary, institutional policies differ, and FTC disclosure requirements apply. But platforms built for this space (like Contested) handle the compliance layer so brands can focus on the partnership, not the paperwork.

"NIL is just a college thing."

It's not. Over 40 states now allow some form of NIL activity for high school athletes, and the number continues to grow. The House v. NCAA settlement has further professionalized the ecosystem. NIL is training a generation of athletes — and brands — for lifelong commercial relationships that extend well beyond the college years.

The Compliance Landscape: What Brands Need to Know

NIL compliance can feel intimidating from the outside, but it's manageable when you understand the key layers.

State laws: NIL is governed by a patchwork of state legislation. Rules vary on everything from disclosure requirements to prohibited categories (alcohol, gambling, tobacco, etc.). Some states have comprehensive NIL statutes; others rely on institutional or athletic association policies.

Institutional policies: Individual universities set their own NIL guidelines, which athletes must follow. These may include reporting requirements, restrictions on using school marks or logos, and rules about when and where NIL activities can take place.

The College Sports Commission (CSC): Established as part of the House v. NCAA settlement, the CSC is the new independent body responsible for enforcing revenue sharing rules and ensuring that third-party NIL deals over $600 reflect fair market value. All qualifying deals must be submitted to the CSC for review.

FTC guidelines: Like any endorsement or sponsored content, NIL partnerships are subject to Federal Trade Commission disclosure requirements. Athletes must clearly disclose paid partnerships in their content — the same rules that apply to any influencer or creator.

The bottom line for brands: Compliance risk is real, but it's a function of infrastructure, not complexity. Brands that work through established platforms with built-in compliance tools eliminate the vast majority of risk. Brands that try to go it alone — reaching out directly to athletes without proper structure — are the ones that get burned.

How to Get Started with NIL Partnerships

Ready to explore athlete partnerships? Here's a framework for getting started.

1. Define Your Goals

Not every NIL partnership needs to drive direct sales. Athlete partnerships can serve awareness, engagement, community-building, and conversion goals — often simultaneously. Get clear on what success looks like before you start evaluating athletes.

2. Prioritize Audience Alignment Over Follower Count

The single biggest mistake brands make in NIL is chasing name recognition. The athlete with 200,000 followers and a 1% engagement rate is almost always a worse investment than the athlete with 5,000 followers and a 10% engagement rate who shares your target demographic. Find the athletes whose audience is your customer.

3. Structure Deals That Work for Both Sides

The best NIL partnerships are built on mutual value. Define deliverables clearly — content format, posting schedule, exclusivity terms, usage rights — and price the deal fairly. Athletes who feel valued produce better content. It's that simple.

4. Measure What Matters

Track the metrics that align with your goals. If you're running a brand awareness campaign, measure impressions, reach, and brand lift. If you're driving conversions, track click-through rates, promo code redemptions, and attributed revenue. NIL partnerships are measurable marketing — treat them that way.

5. Use the Right Infrastructure

Managing athlete partnerships at scale — across multiple athletes, markets, sports, and compliance environments — requires purpose-built tools. That's where platforms like Contested come in.

Where Contested Fits

Contested is an AI-driven platform that connects brands with athletes for marketing partnerships. We handle the parts that slow brands down — intelligent matching based on audience alignment, campaign management, compliance, payments, and analytics — so you can focus on building partnerships that actually perform.

Whether you're a national brand launching a multi-market athlete ambassador program or a local business running your first NIL deal, Contested provides the infrastructure to do it right.

Book a Demo

The Bottom Line

NIL is not a trend. It's not a loophole. It's the new infrastructure of sports marketing — a $2+ billion market that's still in its early innings.

The brands that move now are the ones building relationships with athletes before the market fully matures and prices adjust accordingly. They're the ones learning what content resonates, which athlete profiles drive results, and how to build partnerships that compound over time.

The athletes are ready. The audiences are engaged. The question is whether your brand is going to meet them there.

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FAQs

What does NIL stand for?

NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness — the legal right of college athletes to earn compensation from their personal brand through endorsement deals, social media partnerships, appearances, merchandise, and more.

When did NIL become legal?

The NCAA adopted its interim NIL policy on July 1, 2021, following the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in NCAA v. Alston on June 21, 2021. California's Fair Pay to Play Act in 2019 was the first state law to address NIL rights.

How big is the NIL market?

The NIL market reached an estimated $1.67 billion in 2024–25 and is projected to surpass $2.3 billion in 2025–26 with the introduction of institutional revenue sharing under the House v. NCAA settlement.

Do I need a big budget to do NIL deals?

No. According to OC&C Strategy Consultants, 68% of NIL deals are valued under $1,000. Local businesses, small brands, and regional companies are among the most active participants in the NIL market.

Are NIL deals only for football and basketball?

Not at all. NIL deals span every sport and every competitive level — including women's sports, Olympic sports, and Division II and III athletes. Women's basketball actually surpassed men's basketball in commercial NIL compensation share in 2024.

What compliance do I need to worry about?

Key compliance layers include state NIL laws, individual university policies, the College Sports Commission (CSC) for deals over $600, and FTC disclosure requirements. Working through an established platform with built-in compliance tools simplifies this significantly.

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