NIL: Conference-by-conference breakdown in total compensation since July 1

Opendorse on Thursday released compensation data on the first two months of NIL deals in college athletics, dating back to July 1, and the leading conference — in both total compensation and total activity — is the Big Ten.

Through Aug. 31, the Big Ten conference appears to be leading the way in both total activity and total compensation.

Total activity, which quantifies the number of overall NIL deals, is led by the Big Ten conference, followed by the ACC in second, the SEC in third and Big 12 in fourth. Four Power Five conferences lead the pack, but three other conferences — the AAC, Big East and Mountain West — all come in before the Pac-12, which ranks eighth. Rounding out the top 10 in total activity is the Conference-USA and MAC.

Total compensation, by comparison, represents the overall monetary value associated with the NIL deals, which paints a slightly different picture. Compensation, from the top-ranked conference through the fifth-ranked conference, is all Power Five conferences. Again, the Big Ten leads the way, followed by the ACC, SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12. The rest of the top 10 includes the Mountain West at sixth, followed by the AAC, Big East, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (D-II) and Conference-USA.

From a sport-by-sport outlook, the top-four sports in both total compensation and total activity are the same. Football leads the way, with 60.1% of total compensation and 37.9% of total activities, followed by another fall sport in women’s volleyball, which commands 9.8% of total compensation and 10.0% of total activity. In third and fourth are men’s basketball and women’s basketball; men’s basketball makes up 9.7% of total compensation and 8.7% of total activity, while women’s basketball makes up 2.3% of total compensation and 4.3% of total activity.

Through two months of NIL deals, the top activity — by far and away — is posting content on social media platforms. Posting content makes up 47.8% of total compensation and 85.8% of total activities. In a not-so-close second is licensing rights, which so far has generated 19.1% of total compensation and 3.8% of total activities.

How NIL deals affect college athletics

According to Auburn’s first-year head coach Bryan Harsin — whose Tigers team has signed a plethora of NIL deals in just two months of activity — it’s difficult to decipher whether the introduction of NIL deals might affect a team’s focus.

“I think the assumption is how much that affects the locker room — it’s hard to tell right now,” Harsin said. “Just as far as this being so new. Don’t really have an answer for you on that. But I think eventually you’re gonna see some things will come out of this, and hopefully it’s good. Some of the things that will come out of it that are negative, we’ll probably learn as the season goes on. 

“Make adjustments as we go, and figure out what’s the best way to use this model so we can still develop players. They can have an experience and we have really good people surrounding them while they’re here in the program.”

Whether NIL deals affect a team’s focus might be up for debate; less so, however, is the fact that the Name, Image and Likeness era of college athletics is heavily impacting the recruiting world.

“Prospects in basketball and football say the ability to land endorsement deals is shaping how they go through the decision-making process,” On3 Sports’ Jeremy Crabtree said.

“Both recruiting analysts and college recruiting coordinators say prospects talk with each other about NIL opportunities,” he continued. “NIL has brought about a seismic change in recruiting, and it leads to some pressing questions for those involved in the recruiting process in both sports.