Kayvon Thibodeaux advises student-athletes to be smart with NIL deals

Projected top-10 pick Kayvon Thibodeaux was one of the first college football players to jump headfirst into the unknown waters of NIL last summer and work on building his brand.

He released his own NFT and created his own cryptocurrency, signed deals with Nike, United Airlines and others. He became one of the bellwethers of how the space may continue to grow in college athletes. Thibodeaux is also going to be at the forefront of another aspect of NIL: the transition from NIL partnerships in college to endorsements and sponsorships as a professional athlete.

“It’s value, I think it’s a conversation,” Kayvon Thibodeaux told On3. “Now I’m dealing with people at the top of the food chain and now I can really get different deals done just as far as equity, as far as dictating the percentage I have in these deals.”

Kayvon Thibodeaux: Relationships key with NIL

The relationships Thibodeaux built as a college athlete have also continued to help him as he makes this transition.

At The MINT collective last week, eBay and Kayvon Thibodeaux announced a special edition trading card designed by Sophia Chang. This isn’t the first time eBay and Thibodeaux worked together, as he has previously sold special memorabilia on the site beforehand.

In building his network, Thibodeaux focused on brands he wanted to work with and ones he saw value to collaborate with, which is why he views eBay as a good fit for him.

“It’s about brand associations, right?” Thibodeaux said. “eBay is a phenomenal brand, phenomenal marketplace. I’ve grown up using eBay myself. I’ve already had a preconceived notion about eBay. Then being able to meet the representatives and meet the people who kind of make eBay, and who are the company, I just knew that this would be a brand that I love to associate myself with.”

Thibodeaux left Oregon with one of the top On3 NIL Valuations in the sport at $355k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The On3 NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

‘Don’t give away everything’

Kayvon Thibodeaux said he would advise college students to not say yes to everything and consider how the company can help you beyond just the dollars and cents.

“Just being able to say no, being able to not dilute the brand, being able to kind of keep everything in house and do it yourself if you can,” Thibodeaux said. “Don’t give away everything that God has blessed you with.”

Kayvon Thibodeaux is projected to be a top-10 pick in this month’s NFL Draft and could very easily go inside the top five. Some big boards even have him as the No. 1 prospect in the class.

Regardless, Thibodeaux understands that the most important part of improving his brand starts with what he does on the field.

“Everything I do on the field will kind of dictate how my off-the-field business life goes,” Kayvon Thibodeaux told On3. “So just trying to keep football the main focus and then being able to be well rounded enough that when football is done, I’ll be able to you know transition to my next career.”