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Data shows that it's top-heavy market for early NIL deals

Eric Prisbellby:Eric Prisbell•08/12/21•

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Just how much of the compensation related to Name, Image and Likeness deals is funneling to the most marketable college athletes? 

Data from Opendorse, which provides technology to the athlete endorsement industry, that was shared with On3 Sports showed that the top 10 percent of athlete earners in July pulled in 93 percent of all the dollars in the market.

“It’s top-heavy,” said Blake Lawrence, the CEO and founder of the Lincoln, Neb.-based company. “The top athletes are getting a lot, and that is bringing the average up.”

Opendorse’s data set spans 324 Division I, II and III colleges and universities and includes more than 2,500 athletes who engaged in NIL activity during the first month that they were able to profit from endorsement deals.

Among the insights:

  • The average compensation per athlete: $400
  • Average compensation for a Division I athlete: $471
  • Division II: $81
  • Division III: $47
  • The median athlete compensation: $35
  • Average compensation for a female athlete: $123
  • Average compensation for a male athlete: $538
  • 46% of all NIL compensation came from social media promotions
  • 29% from licensing NIL rights
  • 10% from signing autographs
  • 6% from making appearances
  • 6% from creating content
  • 1% from hosting camps
  • 1% from selling products to consumers

“It’s exciting knowing that the market is still getting going,” Lawrence said. “There is a lot that hasn’t turned on yet, so maybe this is bigger than we expected. And that’s exciting.”

Lawrence said Opendorse is built for the athlete and is school agnostic. It helps athletes with NIL education, marketing, compliance and monetization. 

“We provide those tools to athletes from high school to the pros and beyond,” he said. “That is how we are and how we have always been built. If the school also uses our software, they use a separate product completely from what is built for the athlete so there are no conflicts of interest.”

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