NIL continues to evolve at breakneck speed. Yet, there are individuals that impacted name, image and likeness more than others in 2022. There are also important people that are shaping this category in real time. As we move into the new year, here is On3’s list of figures that shaped NIL in 2022. These people influence what NIL is today and what it will be in the future.

The list is in alphabetical order and sorted by athletes and NIL operators. The list was selected by On3 staff.

Athletes

Paige Bueckers

Connecticut women’s basketball player
Much of the focus during 2022 was on the ability of male student-athletes to profit. However, UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers has proven female student-athletes can generate revenue and help boost brands, too.

Bueckers, the 2021 women’s national player of the year who led UConn to the 2022 Women’s Final Four and national championship game, signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Gatorade last year. She was Gatorade’s first NCAA partner. In 2022, she agreed to major deals with Crocs, Bose and Nerf. Plus, Bueckers has also a trademark for “Paige Buckets” for her own line of merchandise.

Experts say Bueckers may be the most marketable college basketball player in the nation. It makes sense because she has a massive presence of more than 1.5 million social media followers. It’s easy to see why her On3 NIL Valuation is $824,000, which is No. 35 on the On3 NIL 100 and third on the On3 Women’s NIL 100.

Livvy Dunne

LSU gymnast
Livvy Dunne is known as the “most followed NCAA athlete on social media” with more than 9.1 million followers, including 330,000,000 likes on her TikTok account.

During her freshman season at LSU, she earned All-America honors on the uneven bars, including a 9.90 score at the NCAA championships and a career-best 9.925 on the event.

But she’s on this list because of the impact she’s made through NIL deals in 2022 with Leaf Trading Cards, Forever 21, Grubhub, Linktree and many, many others. Her commercials with Vuori Clothing are also everywhere. Dunne is also signed to one of the biggest agencies in WME Sports.

Dunne is also on the list because she sparked some controversy in 2022. Stanford women’s basketball coaching legend Tara VanDerveer told The New York Times Dunne using her feminine desirability is a “step back for female athletes.” Dunne snapped back on social media.

“If you don’t like me, that’s fine. But, you know, watch your mouth,” Dunne lip-synced in a video in which she is seen in her Tigers gymnastics attire. She captioned the video: “Only taking steps forward.”

Regardless, she a polarizing debate that will only continue into 2023. Dunne has a massive On3 NIL Valuation of $2.6 million, and her presence isn’t going away any time soon.

Hansel Enmanuel

Northwestern State basketball player
Any list that doesn’t include Hansel Enmanuel would be incomplete.

Not only did he generate headlines for becoming the first NCAA athlete to receive an O-1 visa for NIL-related purposes, but the Northwestern State guard also inked landmark partnerships with companies like T-Mobile, Gatorade and adidas in 2022.

The visa news alone is significant. It provided a roadmap for international student-athletes to generate NIL deals in the U.S. under the O-1 visa criteria, which require an individual to prove he or she has extraordinary ability.

Enmanuel has an On3 NIL Valuation of $1.5 million, which ranks No. 10 in the On3 NIL 100. His On3 NIL Valuation also played a role in his O-1 visa being approved.

A former On3 Consensus three-star recruit, Enmanuel had one arm amputated as a child after an accident. Born in the Dominican Republic, he played high school basketball at Life Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Florida.

Enmanuel also has a monster social media following of more than 4.2 million followers. With top companies already partnering with him, he is expected to continue to be a major force in the NIL space in 2023.

Nico Iamaleava

Class of 2023 quarterback
In a new world where the market is being determined in real-time, Tennessee five-star quarterback signee Nico Iamaleava set the NIL standard for quarterbacks in 2022 and others that follow in his footsteps.

The Long Beach (California) Warren star reset the NIL quarterback market in March when he committed to Tennessee. As The Athletic has since reported, he signed a deal after his pledge that could see him make $8 million over three years.

It was a deal that sent shockwaves throughout the recruiting trail and college athletics. But it also proved that the quarterback position commands the most value on the open market, especially when you’re a highly touted prospect like Iamaleava.

Apart from the reported deal, Iamaleava has built a solid brand heading into his freshman season at Tennessee. He already has more than 310,000 social media followers and an On3 NIL Valuation of $1.2 million.

Sunisa Lee

Auburn gymnast
It is hard to understate the impact Suni Lee had on NIL in 2022. Not only did she fill up gyms all over the country, but Lee also inked deals with CLIF Bar, Amazon, Gatorade, Target and Invisalign.

Simply put, she is the most decorated collegiate athlete in the country. Prior to arriving at Auburn for the 2022 season, she was a seven-time U.S. National Team member, the 2020 Olympic all-around champion and an uneven bar bronze medalist. Lee was also a member of the teams that won gold at the 2019 World Championships and silver at the 2020 Olympics. She went on to have the most successful year in Auburn gymnastics history, capturing eight All-America honors, one national championship, an SEC title and being named the SEC Freshman of the Year. 

Lee has a massive social media presence with more than 1.7 million followers on Instagram alone. On top of her Instagram following, she has another 1.6 million on TikTok and 181,000 on Twitter. Her On3 NIL Valuation is $1.5 million, and she’s No. 2 on the On3 Women’s NIL 100.

She also recently announced this will be her final season with the Tigers, so look for her value to brands to balloon throughout the winter and spring months.

Caleb Williams

USC quarterback
In less than a year in Los Angeles, Caleb Williams has become the poster child for NIL in college football. Working closely with his Smith & Company team, he became one of the first college athletes to sign with Beats by Dre back in February. From there, he inked agreements with Fanatics Authentic, AC+ION Water, Athletic Brewing Company and Celsius. Plus, he has a part-owner role with the brand Faculty, too.

Yet, none of the NIL deals would come if it weren’t for the on-the-field success. Williams arrived at USC after transferring from Oklahoma. It was in L.A. where he had a remarkable 2022 season, throwing for 4,075 yards and 37 touchdowns with only four interceptions. It was a season that ended with him hoisting the Heisman Trophy in New York City.

And he’s created his own brand to match the football success. He wore a Gucci suit to the Heisman ceremony. He’s been spotted carrying around a Louis Vuitton bag at The Coliseum this season. And he’s fully self-dependent thanks to NIL.

There’s little question he’s one of the top people that shaped NIL in 2022. If he continues on this trajectory – on and off the field – he might end up having the biggest influence over anybody next year.

NIL operators

Hunter Baddour

Founding Partner, President Spyre Sports Group
No collective pushed the envelope more – or been bolder and more ambitious – than Hunter Baddour’s Tennessee-centric Spyre Sports Group in 2022. As one industry source said, “Spyre is not messing around. They are big spenders and are smart about it.”

Baddour is not shy about publicizing Spyre’s grand vision, putting figures and promotion behind his ambition. The money would be put into the pockets of student-athletes (or recruits). In an ultra-competitive landscape in the SEC, this could help lure an increasing number of five-star prospects to Knoxville. Baddour didn’t mince words to The Athletic: “We realized being involved in recruiting was going to be a priority. Then we realized how much money we were going to need to be elite. And we’re shooting to be No. 1.”

Heck, he was central in helping get Danny White to become one of the first athletic directors in the country to throw his support behind the school’s collective in a very public way. That ambition and his impact are exactly why Baddour is on this list.

Jim Cavale

Founder, CEO of INFLCR
The brain behind INFLCR, Jim Cavale’s product helped shape the everyday interactions athletes have with businesses across the country.

INFLCR is in more than 170 Division I athletic departments, providing brand-building technology to assist athletes in maximizing their NIL value. INFLCR’s suite of products offers athletes resources to help them with education around relevant NIL topics; access to the INFLCR Exchange of marketplace partners they can research and engage in transactions with; and reporting technology enabling them to disclose NIL transactions.

He also played a major role in organizing the first-ever NIL summit this past summer in Atlanta.

Cavale has been one of the most forward-thinking individuals at the NIL level. Cavale will continue to have a lasting impact on NIL moving forward in 2023.

Mike Caspino

Attorney with Forward Counsel
No other person was more of a NIL lightning rod in 2022. Mike Caspino was one of the biggest players in NIL this year, reshaping the recruiting landscape.

The attorney brokered one of the largest known deals to date – a potential $8 million contract that’s reportedly with Iamaleava. Caspino says he’s worked on deals for more than 100 four- and five-star recruits in football and basketball.

He’s caused a handful of controversy, too, being one of the only lawyers to admit to working against the NCAA guidelines, as he’s worked hand-in-hand with NIL collectives delivering contracts to athletes.

But as NIL continues its up-and-down trajectory, there’s no question Caspino is still going to have an influence in 2023.

Darren Heitner

Attorney with Heitner Legal
Darren Heitner of Heitner Legal had his hand in nearly every sector of the NCAA’s new era during 2022. In many ways, he’s become one of the faces of NIL and a trusted legal source for people trying to understand its complexities.

Heitner, an intellectual property attorney, crafted deal after deal for the Cavinder Twins. He’s worked closely with collectives, helping form organizations and serving as a resource when interpreting NCAA and state laws. Heitner served as a consultant for countless brands, too.

The attorney has also been an advocate for high school student-athletes cashing in on their NIL, and he helped the state of Florida craft its NIL legislation. His influence is showing no signs of slowing down heading into the new year.

Blake Lawrence

CEO Opendorse
Blake Lawrence, a former four-star recruit and Nebraska Cornhusker linebacker and his partner, Adi Kunalic, took Opendorse to new heights in 2022 as the top marketplace in the NIL ecosystem.

Lawrence’s company partners with more than 90,000 athletes, 3,000 sports marketers, 2,000 sports organizations and has more than two billion athlete followers. The goal is simple: Help athletes and their supporters understand, build, protect and monetize their brand value.

Opendorse is the leading NIL athlete marketplace, and Lawrence hopes to use this year’s success for even bigger things in 2023.

John Ruiz

Owner LifeWallet and Cigarette Racing
NIL deals became mainstream in 2022 largely because of the long list of marketing agreements made by businessman and Miami Hurricane supporter John Ruiz.

Many cried foul because they believed deals he facilitated with Miami student-athletes bordered on “pay-for-play,” which is a no-no per the NCAA’s interim NIL policy. Yet, in many ways, Ruiz navigated NIL’s murky waters better than most in 2022.

He signed Nijel Pack – a former Kansas State basketball player who transferred to Miami – to a two-year $800,000 deal that includes the use of a car. He executed deals with more than 110 active athletes from football to women’s basketball to baseball. Plus, he even drew the ire of Alabama football coach Nick Saban. 

All of those reasons – and then some – are why he’s On3’s NIL Most Impactful Person in 2022.