Day One Of The NIL And We've Got Some Wild Endorsements Already Signed By College Athletes Across The Country

Yesterday the announcement was made that college athletes can finally make money off their likeness.

We saw Jordan Bohannon launch an apparel line and get a gig at a fireworks store. Today we see other athletes taking advantage.

This was my personal favorite athlete who took advantage of the new rules. 

Will Ulmer, a Marshall Offensive Lineman, could finally start performing under his real name to gain exposure for his music. This gives me hope that not only superstars or bench players with large social media followings will be the only ones able to capitalize on the new rules. This will allow for this guy to be able to set up for a path after football in the music industry and have a good career, or just allow him to make some money on the side to allow him to leave school with assets. 

Now the next example was almost too predictable happening at 12:01 am

Bo Nix, the starting QB for Auburn, received sponsorship from Milo's sweet tea. Like Jordan Bohannon of Iowa, Nix has had considerable media attention for his play but will most likely not translate to the pro game. These are going to be the types of smaller corporations making deals with college players. Regional brands will pair with regional superstars. But it might cause a decline in sales in other areas as we know college sports have fierce rivalries. I wasn't going to say this was expected from Alabama fans.

Auburn teammate Shaun Shivers even announced a deal with Yoke Gaming who Ja'Varrius Johnson and Jaylin Simpson also signed with. 

Gaming is going to be a huge one. Gaming is the go-to for college athletes in their free time. When the rest of the student body is going out to bars or doing recreations athletes cannot partake in due to team rules, they are all gaming. I've seen this personally at the D3 level and its prevalent on D1 level. Now that guys can turn this free time into income I believe it's going to be a way better alternative to other ways college athletes used to make income on the down-low. 

Female athletes have also taken advantage of the new rules. 

The Cavinder twins of Fresno state women's basketball have signed with Boost Mobile

These rules may be the biggest benefit to non-revenue sports as they will grant exposure on different levels. Many of the Cavinder twins' followers tune into their games promoting exposure for these sports. The Cavinder twins are not just walk-ons like Kansas State players. Hannah averages 17 ppg and Haley averages 19.1.

But mostly I think deals are going to be like D'Eriq King's.

University of Miami QB D'Eriq King signed with College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving and Murphy Auto Group. That deal valued at around $20,000 will be combined with his apparel shop and sponsorship by local dining establishments.

Along With McKenzie Milton of UCF, they have both signed to Dreamfield. 

This is a firm that facilitates athletes doing autograph signing and many of the functions of professional sports marketers. They are also making NFTs for both of them, hopefully trying to cash in on that trend. 

These types of firms are gaining a lot of traction as many are popping up as people scramble to take advantage of profiting off these athlete's likenesses. 

Who knows where this will lead. Hopefully, this will allow college sports to survive and not be overtaken by semi-pro or foreign leagues. 

Maybe I need to talk to Erika about doing a Barstool College athlete marketing team where we take on a roster of College athletes and facilitate their brand growth and profitability… We do have the platform…