Opendorse, Charlotte Sports Foundation launch NIL marketplace for Duke's Mayo Bowl

The Duke’s Mayo Bowl has always pushed the fold. The bowl signed NIL deals with players on participating teams following the 2021 game, the first year the NCAA permitted athletes to monetize their publicity rights.

Since then, the NCAA made their guidelines clear that bowls are not allowed to ink NIL agreements with participating athletes. The same goes for basketball tournaments and other competitions.

But now the Duke’s Mayo Bowl will be active again in the NIL space. The Charlotte Sports Foundation, which runs the bowl game, has partnered with the Opendorse to launch an NIL marketplace for the game.

Charlotte businesses can use the platform to easily find and connect with athletes who will be participating in this year’s edition of the game. It could just be a start, too, as the Charlotte Sports Foundation also hosts the Jumpman Invitational and Ally Tipoff.

“The Charlotte Sports Foundation, we have incredible community support already,” Charlotte Sports Foundation director of communications and marketing Miller Yoho told On3. “We have also the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, which is an incredible partner of ours, and we’ll try to utilize them. And then Charlotte’s an awesome place in terms of businesses, people, it’s engaged. There’s a ton of people moving here; there’s just a ton of excitement. And for us, it’s just a natural way to connect our bowl game to the business community.

“We’ve already started talking to some partners about how they can engage with these student-athletes. They’re going to be in town probably starting December 23 through the 27th. So why not have them come in and help promote your business?”

Yoho told On3 that the NCAA signed off on it, so “it was an easy decision from our staff to do it.” This year’s edition of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl is scheduled for Dec. 27, featuring teams from the ACC and SEC. Teams will be selected on Sunday, Dec. 3.

While it’s the first of its kind, it’s really just a start. With College Football Playoff expansion just a year away, more and more bowls are going to be looking to make their games more attractive for athletes. For years, it’s been the gifts athletes receive. Launching an NIL marketplace and soliciting endorsement deals could now be the solution.

And while Duke’s Mayo Bowl can’t sign endorsement deals with the athletes, the event can make an effort to connect businesses and participating players. Many industry stakeholders believe it’s only a matter of time until revenue sharing comes to college football, especially with TV contracts balooning.

Marketplaces at bowl games could be a step in that direction.