NIL marketplace Opendorse hires new CEO, Blake Lawrence moving to college sports president
Opendorse is making changes to its leadership team.
The NIL marketplace appointed Stephen Denton as its new CEO, taking the role of co-founder and CEO Blake Lawrence, who will transition to a college sports president role for the company.
Most recently, Denton served as CEO of Ware2Go, an online fulfillment platform owned by UPS. Before then, Denton held top roles at marketplaces eBay, LinkShare and Rakuten. In Lawrence’s new role, he will work with collegiate partners, spending time with athletic directors to assist athletic departments in making informed NIL and revenue-sharing decisions.
“We are excited to welcome Stephen to Opendorse,” Lawrence said. “Stephen’s impressive track record of scaling businesses and his expertise in network-based models make him the perfect leader for Opendorse at this stage. The commercial side of Opendorse has uncapped potential, and with Stephen’s vision, we aim to capitalize on bringing more deals and value to athletes than ever before.”
Adi Kunalic, who co-founded Opendorse with Lawrence, will remain in his chief operating officer capacity. He oversees the day-to-day execution and alignment of the company, working with commercial and collegiate partners.
Opendorse released its third annual NIL report earlier this month, projecting the NIL market will grow by more than 40% this year, with an overall estimated market spend of $1.67 billion. Opendorse is also projecting the collegiate NIL market will eclipse the $2 billion mark with the start of revenue sharing at the beginning of the 2025 academic year.
The change in Opendorse’s front office comes as institutions prepare for the impact of the multibillion-dollar House settlement. Schools can opt-in to a revenue-sharing agreement, with the option to share roughly $20 to $22 million per year with players.
Of the $2.77 billion expected to be paid in back damages to former athletes as part of the House settlement, the NCAA is expected to be responsible for 40% of the payout. The other 60% will come from a reduction in school distributions. The complete settlement could be submitted to Judge Claudia Wilken this week.
Opendorse also forecasted in its report that the top 25 Division I quarterbacks could net more than $1.3 million annually between scholarship, NIL, Roster Value and revenue-sharing payments.
Opendorse is the latest NIL and college sports company to make changes in recent months. Learfield, the multimedia rights holder for nearly 100 Division I athletic programs, is going in-house with its Compass platform. Opendorse and Learfield are contracted to work together through June 2025.