Amazon Prime Video launches NIL campaign for March Madness

Amazon Prime Video is making a notable investment into NIL as March Madness continues.

The subscription and streaming service has launched a campaign with more than 30 college athletes. The athletes are posting different ways to use the platform to watch the NCAA Tournament live across social media. Fans are able to add-on Paramount+ content, which includes men’s March Madness 2024, to their Amazon Prime account.

Amazon’s NIL move is headlined by names like Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, Nebraska volleyball’s Lexi Rodriguez and Clemson quarterback Christopher Vizzina. On3 ELITE assisted in bringing the athletes and brand together, putting together the campaign in less than 48 hours. The campaign includes five sports across 12 schools.

“This deal shows the power of NIL, with a group of elite athletes coming together to support their schools at the start of March Madness with ways for fans to watch their favorite teams,” On3 ELITE’s John Staton said. “Amazon Prime is creating innovative ways to spread the word on how to watch the tournament. This campaign would not have come together so smoothly without the assistance of On3 ELITE director of marketing and branding Morgyn Seigfried.” 

The first round of NCAA Tournament play continues Friday afternoon when No. 9 seed Northwestern and No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic meet in the East Region. Second-round play continues throughout the weekend. Thursday was headlined by three No. 11 seeds – Duquesne, Oregon and NC State – crashing the party. And No. 14 Oakland appears to be March’s first Cinderella story following its upset of No. 3 seed Kentucky in Pittsburgh. 

On3 ELITE is a division of On3’s media company that connects high school and college athletes and facilitates non-exclusive partnerships between brands with 100% of the dollars going to the athlete. The On3 ELITE platform is built for all athletes.

On3 has developed an extensive algorithm to establish an annual NIL Valuation for college and elite high school athletes. The On3 NIL Valuation has quickly become the industry standard for the NIL marketplace and college athletes across the country.

Through the app, athletes can claim their On3 profile to unlock a data-rich experience that allows each member of the network to see the detail behind their own NIL valuation, report and verify NIL deals to build that value and see how that valuation changes based on which school they attend or are considering.

Prime Video works with major NIL brands for March Madness

To kick off one of the biggest sporting events on the calendar, Prime Video is working with more than 25 athletes to promote how to watch the NCAA Tournament on the platform. Daniels’ name has been thrown around as a possible Heisman Trophy contender while Rodriguez is a three-time Big Ten first-team selection. Nebraska track and field star Ashley McElmurry, who has nearly 250,000 social media followers, is also participating.

Since the NCAA permitted athletes to start profiting off their NIL in July 2021, March Madness has become one of the most active times for brands to spend dollars. Other major campaigns so far this month include Keurig, NerdWallet, Raid and Skims. Amazon has one of the largest yet.

Here is a full breakdown of athletes participating in the campaign:

+ Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson
+ Tennessee defensive lineman Omari Thomas
+ Tennessee outfielder Hunter Ensley
+ Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson
+ Alabama pitcher Alton Davis II
+ Alabama outfielder/infielder TJ McCants
+ Tennessee softball pitcher Karlyn Pickens
+ Tennessee softball infielder Zaida Puni
+ Tennessee softball outfielder Kiki Milloy
+ Michigan State defensive back Dillon Tatum
+ Wisconsin wide receiver C.J. Williams
+ Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne
+ Nebraska linebacker Chief Borders
+ Northwestern volleyball player Sienna Noordermeer
+ Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell
+ Wisconsin linebacker Jordan Turner
+ Purdue volleyball player Chloe Chicoine
+ Auburn track Justin Stuckey
+ Nebraska volleyball player Maisie Boesiger
+ Purdue volleyball player Raven Colvin
+ Nebraska volleyball player Laney Choboy
+ Nebraska volleyball player Bergen Reilly
+ Alabama track and field’s Riley White