Kentucky announces number of NIL deals in first year of era

We are one year into the name, image, and likeness (NIL) era, and so far, at least one student-athlete in each of Kentucky’s NCAA Championship sports has signed a NIL deal. This evening, Kentucky announced that from July 1, 2021 — the date NIL legislation went into effect — through June 30, 2022, 176 Kentucky student-athletes earned 1,329 NIL deals. Dollar amounts were not released.

“We are strong advocates for our student-athletes embracing NIL opportunities and have been assisting in every way we can,” Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. “Our student-athletes have taken NIL and run with it in innovative and exciting ways. I’m proud that so many of our young people have done the hard work to benefit in this new era. We’re also gratified that so many local and national businesses see our student-athletes as attractive ambassadors for their brands. 

“We pride ourselves in developing leaders at Kentucky, and so many Wildcats have been leaders in the NIL space. We work hard to meet the needs of young people to empower them to achieve their dreams. As the NIL space evolves, we too will continue to do the work to put our student-athletes in the best possible position to succeed.” 

Will Levis is one of the top NIL earners on campus. Kentucky’s starting quarterback ranks No. 29 in college football, No. 39 overall in the On3 NIL rankings, with an On3 NIL valuation of $583,000. In a video released by the university, he shared how Kentucky has helped him through the process.

“The fanbase and the local market of people who are bought into the team and bought into us players, those are going to be where most of the opportunities come from,” Levis said. “There’s definitely going to be opportunities for some guys on a national scale, but I think that the local markets are really the most important pieces of the puzzle for this because those are the people that are most passionately connected to the team and are willing to pour into us.” 

Kentucky Track star Masai Russell, who has the largest social media presence in UK Athletics, and Will Shaner, Rifle National Champion and Olympic gold medalist, also chimed in.

“Kentucky is the place to be just because it has a great support system, great people,” Russell, whose Instagram following went from 13,700 followers as a freshman to now more than 185,000, said. “You have the support. People here want to help you, want to support you. They have programs for everything.  

“They’re always setting something up so that you can succeed, on and off the track … Everyone is trying to work in your favor. You just have to be the one to take advantage of the opportunities given to you.”  

“I think being from Kentucky and having such a reputable school behind you kind of helps the companies look at you as sort of an individual that’s worth their time.” Shaner said. “(They know) That you’re going to represent their brand in the way that they want because you’ve represented the school so well.”  

“I think Kentucky Athletics has done an amazing job with it all. Once a semester we go in, we do our financial training preparing us for after school. We went through all the NIL contract stuff, what we can and can’t do, basically listing them out loud, and then listing our resources and how they’re going to help us.” 

After Mark Stoops’ call to action to boosters on KSR earlier this month, hopefully, those numbers go even higher.