Kansas sets NIL goals, aims to grow licensed opportunities by 25%

Last week, the University of Kansas athletic department released a strategic plan titled “To the Stars,” which included NIL-related goals.

The strategic plan outlines three NIL goals: Implementing the four pillars of the athletic department’s NIL program Jayhawks Ascend, utilizing internal and external resources to best position Kansas’ NIL infrastructure for its athletes and to continue educating its constituents.

Each goal lists at least one objective beneath it. Some objectives, such as preparing athletes for new financial challenges, are hard to quantify. They’re more qualitative than quantitative.

Two objectives are measurable, however. This is notable in an industry where publicly available data regarding NIL deals is often limited and not every deal is disclosed to a university, opening the door for rumors and innuendo.

“That was one of the main things that struck me as I was coming in new to the role and starting to take a look at it was I really loved the fact that there actually is some good, tangible stuff in here that we know what to shoot for,” Kansas Director of NIL Strategy Tate Gillespie said in a recent phone interview with On3.

Gillespie joined Kansas Athletics in August after working for the consumer intelligence company Talkwalker.

“We know there’s some areas that we can look back on and say, ‘Hey, we accomplished this. We did our job here,'” Gillespie said, “in addition to, of course, the stuff that you kind of can’t measure, like the education piece, the career development piece.”

Kansas wants to increase licensed NIL opportunities by 25%

One NIL-related objective in Kansas’ strategic plan states, “Continue to grow licensed NIL opportunities by another 25% in the next two years (minus national championship sales).”

Kansas’ men’s basketball team won the 2022 NCAA Tournament, which was the first in the NCAA’s NIL era. The Jayhawks then went on a barnstorming tour around the state to celebrate with their fans and capitalize on NIL opportunities. “I wasn’t here for it but I’ve heard nothing but awesome feedback for what that was able to do for not just those players but the program overall,” Gillespie said.

Group licensing, which can provide some NIL opportunities that are considered passive income, allows schools and their athletes to profit through branded apparel.

“One of the areas we’re most proud of here at Kansas is the licensing space and how many different opportunities we’re able to offer to athletes,” Gillespie said.

Kansas has partnered with the specialty sports store Rally House, which has three brick-and-mortar locations in Lawrence, including one inside Allen Fieldhouse. A different partnership will focus on autographed memorabilia.

Through the licensed apparel and merchandise retailer Fanatics, fans can purchase various Kansas jerseys, shirts and hoodies that allow athletes to monetize their NIL through group licensing. Kansas adidas pick-a-player NIL replica football jerseys sell for $139.99. Kansas-branded pick-a-player football and women’s soccer hoodies are available for $69.99.

NIL deal data disclosed to Kansas in the first year

For reference, regarding Kansas Athletics’ goal to increase licensed NIL opportunities by 25%, Kansas athletes reported an average of roughly 26 NIL deals per month in the first year of the NCAA’s NIL era.

From July 1, 2021 through May 2022, Kansas athletes disclosed 289 NIL deals, 43 of which were disclosed in May, according to anonymized data obtained by On3 through an open records request.

For what it’s worth, just five NIL deals in those 11 months received the “merchandise” activity type label. Other activity types include “appearance,” “autograph,” “content creation,” “social” and “rights.”

Anonymized NIL disclosure data provides just a partial window into the NIL activity at a school.

“We had really great success with it last year and then now we’re adding additional resources that previously weren’t there,” Gillespie said of Kansas’ licensed opportunities. “Really hard to say from, gosh, a numbers perspective but when we say, ‘How can we increase that by 25%?’ I think the first step and the most important step that we’re now taking is creating additional streams and opportunities for those licensed opportunities for fans.”

Gillespie said charitable activities show ‘this is what NIL could be’

Another objective in Kansas’ strategic plan says, “Commitment to collaboration and innovation in the NIL space by developing two new innovative ways to engage with our fans that make a long-term impact on KU Athletics within the next three years, aligning with the understanding that each team and athlete may want different NIL opportunities.”

Gillespie said Kansas isn’t ready to name a specific category of initiatives that might complete the goal. However, he highlighted the athletic department’s support of athletes’ involvement in charitable efforts, such as food banks or family shelters.

“You can’t see those and not feel really good about them, right?” Gillespie said. “You know, when you’re able to see, ‘This is what NIL is. This is what NIL could be.’ I would use that as a great first example of continuing to build out a charitable initiative there for how we can be more involved with the community.”

Kansas focuses internally on NIL education

Other NIL-related goals in Kansas’ strategic plan aren’t necessarily tangible or quantifiable, such as “consistently communicating with our constituents on the latest trends.”

However, Gillespie said a major focus at Kansas will be discussions internally on aligning its various departments to put the school’s athletes in the best position possible. It’s a theme Gillespie said he observed while working for Talkwalker, the consumer intelligence company.

“I think every NIL director in the country will tell you this,” Gillespie said. “We can build out what we think is the best education in the world but if the athletes aren’t utilizing it, if our stakeholders aren’t using it — it’s [about] providing that tangible value to them. So that’s one of the things we’re doing right now is we’re actually starting to take a look at, ‘OK, NIL really is one of those things that affects, in one way or another, every single department, every single wing, across an athletic department.

“‘How can we best educate not only our athletes and our stakeholders on the external piece, but how can we internally educate as well as we can? How can our marketing team be best set up to handle the opportunities and challenges that come with NIL just as well as our athletes are able to tackle that?'”

Gillespie said Kansas employees will ask Jayhawks athletes, especially those involved in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), about what areas they’d like more resources.

“How can we best engage them and create a very unique relationship there to where we’re not just putting stuff out there hoping that it hits but you tell us where you need the support?” Gillespie said. “You tell us where you need additional help and that’s how we’re going to craft it.”