Within the past couple years college sports have forever been changed. That change has been the NIL introduction to the college sports world. NIL allows the use of an athlete’s name, image, and likeness through marketing and promotional endeavors. The simple question being raised is what caused this monumental moment within college sports.
“Should college athletes be paid?” was that simple question that people were constantly asking the NCAA. In 2021, it became possible for collegiate athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness. There is a fine line still on what a student can accept as NIL money as this still prevents schools from paying schools directly. Some of the biggest names in college sports are being targeted as high paying athletes bringing a huge amount of money.
Athletes such as Arch Manning are estimated at $6.5 million alone in NIL money just from signing various sponsorships. The average NIL income $1,000 to $10,000 however, depending on the name of the athlete that value can be much larger.
NIL isn’t just accessible to Division I schools, any athlete of any sports across all divisions can have an NIL. Here at Mercy University many of the college athletes have NIL deals with various and numerous companies.
Senior year Mercy University Student and star pitcher of the baseball team Gaetano Pennisi, shared his experience with NIL thus far.
“NIL has been a game-changer for athletes like me. It’s allowed me to expand beyond just being an athlete on the field. With NIL, I’m able to connect with fans and build my personal brand. The ability to collaborate with brands and create merchandise has been amazing. I’m able to share a piece of myself with people who support me, whether it’s through clothing or other products that reflect who I am both on and off the field.”
Pennisi shares what he likes best about NIL being introduced to student athletes.
“What I really appreciate about NIL is how it helps players, whether it’s financially or through publicity. It allows athletes to leverage their name and talents in a way that’s been long overdue. It’s not just about the money, it’s about the opportunities to grow and expand as an individual. You’re able to use your platform in ways that benefit you and also inspire others.”
Pennisi continued to share his thoughts on his experience.
“For me, it’s all about finding balance focusing on my performance on the field while also taking advantage of the opportunities NIL gives me to develop off the field. At the end of the day, it’s about giving athletes the freedom to pursue their dreams in a way that aligns with their goals, and I really respect what NIL has done for us.”
Junior year Mercy University student and star forward for the Women’s Basketball team, Angelia Barrera, shared her amazing experience with NIL.
“As a college athlete, the opportunities that NIL has given me have been nothing but positive. Many benefits come out of this, whether it is for my personal brand, financially, or for the development of my future career. Ever since the opportunity of NIL came to be I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.”
Barrera continued to share what jumped out at her when discussing NIL.
“Although I am a Division-II athlete and I knew Division-I athletes were more of everyone’s first choice when it comes to being chosen for brand deals, I wanted to start growing my personal brand as much as possible to get any opportunity I could. I decided to become more consistent in posting on social media platforms as much as possible to gain more of a presence as well as working harder in the gym.”
Barrera continued to share how NIL impacted her game on the court.
“At higher-level schools, some people just need the name on their jerseys to get them noticed. However, I knew that the better I did in my sport, the more eyes I would have. I could say the presence of NIL is just another incentive and added motivation to do well in all aspects of life.”
Barrera gave insight on her multiple NIL deals.
“From there on, I began signing a deal with a juice company in my hometown, where I received products from them in exchange for some exposure of their product on my Instagram story. Then I became a Celsius Ambassador. I teamed up with a marketing agency called Post-Game Official, which helps me partner up with other brands, and I get paid from those brand deals just by posting on social media and showing my followers. I have worked with CVS and a Creatine Brand so far called Con-cret Creatine.”
Barrera gave more insight into what is so great about NIL being available now.
“As a basketball player whose season runs all year long, it is difficult to get an actual job if I ever needed one, so having NIL as something that is enjoyable and profitable at the same time is great.”
Barrera shared what makes NIL so interesting.
“As someone who is majoring in psychology and minoring in marketing, growing my brand and learning about insights and the type of content my followers enjoy, and making content in general is truly something I find so interesting. I can use my journey to show potential jobs how I grew my brand, so I can help theirs.”
Barrera said one final statement about why NIL is so great for collegiate athletes and her.
“As an athlete, it is key not to put your identity into your sport, so having an outlet like NIL is something fun that allows me to disconnect and ground myself.”
Sophomore year Mercy University student and phenom goalie Cameron Dorfman shared his experience with NIL thus far.
“Over a year or two, I have had a couple NIL deals, the main one I have right now is with a company called Nutty Buddy. They are a cup protective company and they send me free cups so that helps me with protection and obviously staying safe in the net after I had a bad injury.”
Dorfman explains how exactly the payment works with this certain deal. Every time someone uses his code to buy either a jock strap or a cup or compression pants, he get 10 percent.
“I think it helps me make a couple of extra dollars here and there. Also, I get some free stuff that protects me in net, that keeps me safe.”
Dorfman shares a unique opinion about how NIL has impacted all of college sports.
“I think overall, like the very big schools in college, NIL is a huge part of it now. You see teams forming like super teams like Duke, UNC, and those types of teams. They are paying their players millions of dollars, which makes it unfair to some of the smaller teams that can’t really compete with that, since they are getting their players swiped by millions of dollars worth of deals.”
NIL will be a recurring topic as it is constantly developing. However, it is safe to say that Mercy University student athletes think it is a positive thing for collegiate sports so far.
Dorfman added, “I think overall it is a great way to play athletes and compensate them for their ability on the field and their name, image, and likeness. However, in the very big picture, the bigger schools make it kind of unfair for the underdog and the schools that have less money. Overall, I think it is a good thing while having its pros and cons.”
