Student-Athlete Insights

If you book before 12/31/22, the cost is 50% off and you can schedule the session for any time in 2023. I only "sell" on LinkedIn 2x per year and here's one of those times 😃. As the year comes to an end, book an NIL Educational Workshop or 1-Hour Consulting Session by Zoom to set yourself up for NIL success in 2023.

NIL Educational Workshops use data and insights to explain what organizations and Athletic Departments need to know about NCAA Guidelines and State Laws, Student-Athletes’ Opportunities and Activities, Collectives, Marketplaces, High School Guidelines, and more. Reduced cost is $1,250.

1-Hour Consulting Sessions are customized to an organization’s or Athletic Department’s needs. It’s 60-minutes of Q&A and recommendations based on where you are today and where you want to be with NIL next year. Reduced cost is $325.

DM me to book.

While the NCAA’s Transfer Portal is a mess, it's not because of the the number of student-athletes in it. As I wrote about it in this week's NIL Insider https://buff.ly/3HJbsww, but here's the gist:

The thing I always remind people before arguing over the merits of the Portal is that LOTS of college students transfer - not student-athletes, just the general student body. In fact, the percentage of students that transfer is historically around 30%-35%. This past year has been noteworthy in that according to Forbes, “about 2.1 million college students transferred between institutions in academic year 2020-21. That’s an 8.4% decrease between July 2020 and June 2021.” You get the point: last year was a “good” year and still over 2 million students transferred for all kinds of reasons. It’s a huge number that we’ve come to accept.

By comparison, last year’s Transfer Portal had about 9,500 student-athletes in it or a little over 5% of all DI athletes. About half enrolled at a new institution. 7% withdrew - and likely stayed at their initial institution. And about 43% remain “Active” in the Portal, so they still may be exploring, may have left their sport, or transferred to a non-NCAA school. But again for some perspective, the Portal would need to have nearly 53,000 student-athletes enter it to be on-par with the general student body transfer rate. So am I saying that the Transfer Portal isn’t a problem? No, I think it’s chaotic, but not because of the volume of transfers.

I'm looking forward to the next wave of data from NCAA Director of Research Lydia Bell, who recently posted that the NCAA will be updating its info in January 2023.

Maryland's High School NIL, Learfield, Dunkin', Transfer Portal — Student-Athlete Insights This week we discuss Maryland’s new and unique high school NIL policy, the importance of the Learfield/Dunkin’ NIL deal, and why the Transfer Portal isn’t the mess you think it is.

LEARFIELD’S DUNKIN’ DEAL IS A BELLWETHER

From this week's NIL Insider https://buff.ly/3HJbsww

Media, data and technology services powerhouse LEARFIELD launched a program for Dunkin’ comprised of 23 student-athletes from 10 sports and the entire Northwestern University field hockey team - totaling nearly 50 student-athletes in all.

In what’s a first of its kind done at this scale, the “Team Dunkin” deal includes the use of each participating universities’ IP. So student-athletes will wear the colors and logos of their institution.

Dunkin’s deal includes sponsorship of 24 institutions where Learfield is the multi-media rights holder, allowing the brand to use the universities’ IP. The program is managed by Learfield Allied who oversees NIL initiatives.

Dunkin’ first dipped it toe in the NIL water in September in a local deal with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. A month later, fifteen University of Pittsburg student-athletes participated in a local Dunkin’ campaign.

In my opinion, the significance of this Learfield/Dunkin’ partnership is twofold: First, it represents another major, national brand with roots in sports sponsorship now entering the NIL space. Second, the deal represents the kind of athlete marketing that Fortune 500 brands usually require - which includes the use of team (or in this case university) IP.

From this week's NIL Insider - full version here https://buff.ly/3G5ZKLj - MARYLAND TAKES A NOTEWORTHY STAND IN ITS HIGH SCHOOL NIL POLICY

Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Maryland became the latest states to allow high school athletes to earn compensation through NIL. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association decision had been foreshadowed for several months. The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s approval was a bit more surprising; Louisiana is the only other state in the deep South to have approved high school NIL thus far.

The big news came from the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association. While its overall decision was unsurprising (it borders Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, who both permit high school NIL), some details in its policy are a first of its kind as far as I know. The MPSSAA has carved out video games as an impermissible NIL category - treating video games the same as fi****ms, to***co, and alcohol. Keep in mind that 87% of Gen Z play video games daily or weekly (Deloitte 2021), making video games more popular than music, using the internet, and social media.

In addition, Maryland is the first state to have specifically prohibited high school Collectives, which it defines as, “A group of alumni, supporters, parents, or other people who form a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, non-profit organization, foundation, or other entity to provide NIL opportunities to student-athletes of a specific school.” While Collectives have yet to infiltrate high school athletics, I commend the MPSSAA for trying to get out ahead of a potential problem in which a group of boosters could compensate high school athletes with NIL activities created by a Collective. However, I’m concerned that due to how quickly NIL is evolving that the MPSSAA’s definition of a Collective may already be too narrow. I’m advising my high school Association clients to account for (and prohibit if that’s their intention) the new “player-led,” subscription model Collectives that are emerging at the college level.

Maryland's High School NIL, Learfield, Dunkin', Transfer Portal — Student-Athlete Insights This week we discuss Maryland’s new and unique high school NIL policy, the importance of the Learfield/Dunkin’ NIL deal, and why the Transfer Portal isn’t the mess you think it is.

Only about 10% of all DI schools have someone managing NIL. Agents, agencies, brands, and sports organizations too are in need of staff with NIL expertise. If you want to fill an NIL role, please contact me.

I've got 35 students (many of them graduating seniors and grad students) at the University of Vermont Grossman School of Business who just completed a semester long course on all aspects of Name, Image, Likeness. They have had training on NIL activities, collectives, marketplaces, professional service providers, NIL rules/policies, and more.

I'm frequently asked about examples of NIL success - not just the success of student-athletes, but by the brands that have entered the space.

While most brands have viewed NIL as transactional (brand paying a student-athlete to promote a product or service), a select few have taken a bigger picture approach and asked the question, "What can NIL do for my business?"

For those of you looking for best in class examples of using NIL to integrate into your business, take a look at WWE's “Next In Line” program. Now in its second iteration, the program was developed to recruit current student-athletes to become future WWE stars. Athletes are provided access to the WWE Performance Center, media training, community relations and more. Once athletes complete the program, some are offered a WWE contract.

You can read about this and more in my latest NIL Insider https://buff.ly/3Us4lLL

NIL Activity, High School NIL, WWE — Student-Athlete Insights Name, Image, Likeness Insider uses proprietary data and expert insights to explain the latest NIL developments. This week we discuss the brand categories generating the most NIL activity, the complexity of High School NIL, the WWE’s NIL case study, and Michigan State’s NIL celebration.

Check out my first post for SportsEd TV . It covers the basics and is relevant to both High School and College student-athetes. .

What is NIL? What Athletes Can Do to Earn Income | SportsEdTV In practice, NIL means that college student-athletes and High School athletes in many states - for the first time - can earn income from their name, image, and likeness

Name, Image, Likeness Insider for the week of December 4, 2022 covers the brand categories generating the most NIL activity, the complexity of High School NIL, the WWE’s case study, and Michigan State’s NIL celebration.

NIL Activity by Industry, High School NIL, the WWE and More: Name, Image, Likeness Insider for the Week of December 4, 2022 WHAT INDUSTRIES ARE CREATING THE MOST NIL ACTIVITY Using the Student-Athlete Insights survey community of 5,000 student-athletes, I conducted a large-scale study of the brand categories generating the most NIL deals. All NIL activities occurred between August 2021 and October 2022.

Name, Image, Likeness Insider for the week of December 4, 2022 is here https://buff.ly/3Us4lLL and covers the brand categories generating the most NIL activity, the complexity of High School NIL, the WWE’s case study, and Michigan State’s NIL celebration.

NIL Activity, High School NIL, WWE — Student-Athlete Insights Name, Image, Likeness Insider uses proprietary data and expert insights to explain the latest NIL developments. This week we discuss the brand categories generating the most NIL activity, the complexity of High School NIL, the WWE’s NIL case study, and Michigan State’s NIL celebration.

Anytime I speak with Elliot Felix I learn something that I can put into action. He's a genuine Higher Ed expert (I don't use that word "expert" freely.) It was an honor to do his podcast and support his book "How to Get the Most Out of College." Check it out https://buff.ly/3H1eE6d

Podcast — Elliot Felix How to Get the MostOut of College Podcast LISTEN NOW We spend a lot of time thinking about where to go to college but not nearly enough on how to go to college.Join me for short conversations with students and higher education experts that dive into a tip or topic from my book. On each episode, you....

In my third NIL session at Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Athletics Forum next week, I'll be joined by Blake Lawrence CEO of Opendorse. Blake will be doing all the heavy lifting on this one as he takes us through a case study on the wholistic approach Opendorse takes with NIL. (Come to think of it, what the hell will I be doing? 😳 Blake is a friend and we have been on stage together before, so I guess we will figure it out.)

For a full agenda of this great SBJ event put on by Abe Madkour, Margaret (Maggie) Swider, and Donna Johnson, go to https://buff.ly/3FarH3P

In my second NIL session at Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Athletics Forum next week, I'll be joined by an incredible group from WWE - wrestlers Bianca (Belair)- Blair Crawford & Joe Spivak, and head of talent James Kimball. WWE's pipeline for college student-athletes to become WWE stars is on-of-a-kind and I can't wait to dig into how it was created. For those who cannot attend in person, a virtual option is available https://buff.ly/3FarH3P

Special thanks to Stefanie Fiondella for her help and of course Abe Madkour, Margaret (Maggie) Swider, and Donna Johnson of SBJ.

SBJ'S 2022 Intercollegiate Athletics Forum Sports Business Journal’s annual conference examining the fundamental challenges and opportunities ticketing, team, and facility executives face on a day-to-day basis.

Next week, I'll kick off the first (ever!) NIL session at Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Athletics Forum moderating a session called "Anatomy of NIL Sponsorships." Happy to be with Gene Smith, Kirby Hocutt, Erich Marx, and Andrew Wheeler to take a 360-degree look at NIL and discuss best practices for navigating the landscape.

Ok I guess I'll jump in with my own take on this Black Friday thing 😀. Anyone who buys a course today, I'll donate 100% of the proceeds to one of 3 youth sports non-profits I support. https://buff.ly/3USpq32

Student-Athlete Insights Courses are developed and taught by nationally recognized sports industry professional Bill Carter Bill Carter teaches NIL at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business. He consults with brands, agencies, and sports organizations, as well as provide on-demand NIL courses for parents, ...

Name, Image, Likeness Insider: Short Answers to NIL's 5 Most Frequently Asked Questions https://buff.ly/3AA1F7I : What’s a Collective?

Collectives are third party for-profit or non-profit business entities created by a school’s alumni/boosters to guarantee financial opportunities for student-athletes. The NIL opportunities vary in how they will be executed, but are in essence to promote a brand or in support of non-profit.

At the one year anniversary of NIL, it was believed that there were about 120 Collectives. The number grows and contracts each month as new Collectives launch, while others that support the same athletic department merge. All (or nearly all) of the Power Five schools have a Collective - and some have more than one.

From "Short Answers to NIL's 5 Most Frequently Asked Questions" at https://buff.ly/3AA1F7I: How much money do student-athletes really make?

The answer depends on who those student-athletes are, what sport they play, and where the money is coming from. But let’s clarify some some things.

According to the NIL marketplace Opendorse, in year 1 of NIL, the average compensation for college student-athletes on their platform was about $1,300 per NIL deal. I have no doubt that their data is accurate, but data like this may be misleading due to very large deals by a handful of student-athletes.

A better or at least far more conservative way to project what you might make through NIL is to consider median compensation. As a reminder, the median is the middle number in a sorted list of numbers and can often be a better representation of the data than the average.

In numerous surveys I've conducted, the media compensation for student-athletes is about $65 per activity.

From this week's NIL Insider titled Short Answers to NIL's 5 Most Frequently Asked Questions https://buff.ly/3AA1F7I . First up: What’s an NIL Marketplace?

An NIL marketplace is a 2-sided online platform. One one side of the platform are the “sellers” made up of student-athletes. On the other side of the marketplace are the brands or "buyers.” The marketplace allows these entities to come together, meet, negotiate, and ultimately agree on a deal for the student-athlete to perform an NIL activity.

I've thought from the moment that it was launched that NBC Sports Athlete Direct would be able to develop some unique programming. And here we have it: participating student-athletes from the Baylor and Gonzaga men’s basketball teams will have the opportunity to partner with the event’s sponsors.

NBCUNIVERSAL’S PEACOCK TO PRESENT FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND NIL OPPORTUNITY AS PART OF MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL GAME BETWEEN BAYLOR UNIVERSITY AND GONZAGA UNIVERSITY IN INAUGURAL ‘PEACOCK CLASSIC’ - NBC Sports Pressbox “Peacock Classic” – a Rematch of the 2021 NCAA National Championship Game – to Stream Live Exclusively on Peacock Friday, December 2nd at 8 p.m. ET from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota In Conjunction with NBC Sports Athlete Direct, Student-Athletes on the Gonzaga and Baylor...

Short Answers to NIL's 5 Most Frequently Asked Questions https://buff.ly/3AA1F7I - this week's Name, Image, Likeness Insider. Inquiries I receive every day through my website, email, and Q&A at NIL Workshops from Student-Athletes, Parents, Coaches, Administrator, and Sport Executives.

NIL's Most Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ's — Student-Athlete Insights Name, Image, Likeness Insider uses proprietary data and expert insights to explain the latest NIL developments. This week we discuss what people know - and still don’t know - about NIL. So here it goes, NIL's 5 most frequently asked questions and a short answer to each.

Just a few weeks away from moderating the NIL modules/sessions at Sports Business Journal's Intercollegiate Athletics Forum. Can't wait to be with this crew. https://buff.ly/3AjpG2H

SBJ'S 2022 Intercollegiate Athletics Forum Sports Business Journal’s annual conference examining the fundamental challenges and opportunities ticketing, team, and facility executives face on a day-to-day basis.

First week's views of my new NIL mini-course for High School Athletes & Parents have far exceeded my expectations - thank you for watching it and passing it on to parents and high school athletes! It's only $50 with 100% of the profits going to 3 youth sports non-profits. You can watch the last chapter for free now. https://buff.ly/3E1km4R

My most sincere thanks to Dr. Derrick Burgess for the invitation to TimeOut With The SportsDr. Podcast. We scheduled 20 minutes to talk about NIL and ended up talking for 45 about career, the sports industry, NIL and more https://buff.ly/3tug69r

How to Win in the Business of Sports with Bill Carter Name, Image, and Likeness is a legal term that describes a person's "right of publicity." It includes their capacity to make money from everything that m…

In response to the many calls and emails I get on this topic, I'm excited to announce the "soft launch" of my new NIL mini-course for High School Athletes & Parents. About 40 minutes of video and 50 slides for $50 - and 100% of the profits will go to 3 youth sports non-profits. Create an account and watch the last chapter for free. https://buff.ly/3E1km4R

Drinking coffee and reading the year in review. Congrats to the Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland and the Povich Center for Sports Journalism on another successful year, guided by the amazing Mark Hyman. Among the Povich Center's many accomplishments was their reporting on Title IX called Unlevel Playing Fields which you should read here https://buff.ly/3zZ0DBB

I'm proud to be a part of the Povich Center's board of advisors.

Read the latest Name, Image, Likeness Insider here https://buff.ly/3Ugs16e . Ahead of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s vote next month on whether to permit NIL at the high school level, Council member Isaiah Thomas of Philadelphia has proposed a bill called the “Philly NIL Youth Protection Fund,” to pay for legal help for high school athletes who do NIL deals. The bill fund would be $100,000 for to up to five hours of legal and financial representation for student-athletes. According to several news reports, the bill would also require the city to distribute educational materials to student athletes.

This is possibly not a bad idea, but a few considerations that Philadelphia might to consider:

According to national Student-Athlete Insights survey data, 74% of high school prospects (those who intend to play in college) have an interest in NIL

College student-athlete data is similar (about three quarters of student-athlete say they are interested), but only around 18-20% actually pursue and land NIL deals (we don’t have high school data to compare yet, but there is evidence to suggest that high school numbers will be smaller than the college percentages)

It’s easy to get caught up in the news about the “NIL mega-deals”, but most deals are small; the media NIL deal at the college level has been about $65 and takes a student-athlete about 3 hours to complete

There is no question that high school athletes in states that permit high school NIL should be provided educational tools or support. But it’s equally important that those tools match the realities of what we know about NIL at this point.

In what I think is a very important deal, the iconic Jordan Brand signed its first NIL deal with UCLA women's basketball player Kiki Rice. In a duel press release, the brand and Rice indicated that their partnership will include helping Rice serve to improve gender equity in sport for young girls. Kiki Rice was a McDonald's All-American, the Naismith High School Player of the Year and the MaxPreps National Female High School Athlete of the Year.

So why do I think this deal is important?

A year ago, I wrote about the University of Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers becoming Gatorade’s first college student-athlete to sign an endorsement deal. Bueckers joined Serena Williams and Lionel Messi on the Gatorade roster that includes some of the most elite athletes in the world. But the significance of the Bueckers-Gatorade partnership was not just its dollar value (financial terms were not disclosed.) Rather the importance was in signing a deal with Gatorade - a sports marketing operation that is among the most sophisticated in the world. Rice’s Jordan deal falls within the same category and that’s exciting for many reasons. First and foremost, it’s an indicator that sophisticated sports industry brands see the sponsorship value in NIL. Second, brands like Jordan have the infrastructure to activate an athlete sponsorship like Rice’s - across digital, broadcast, events, and retail - like few brands can.

Simply put, these kind of deals move NIL forward.

Read NIL Insider here https://buff.ly/3Ugs16e

Go check out https://buff.ly/3Ugs16e for this week's Name, Image, Likeness Insider. This week we discuss the “last word” on the NCAA’s new guidance, an important new NIL deal by the Jordan brand, and a City Council proposing an NIL fund.

From NIL Insider this week https://buff.ly/3h09YCN: In studies I’ve conducted over the last year, I have seen as high as 70% of student-athletes say they have an interest in entrepreneurship and starting their own businesses. Using NIL to teach student-athletes how to become entrepreneurs - whether to capitalize on Name, Image, Likeness or create a startup in the future - is seizing on a great learning opportunity.

But teaching about entrepreneurship feels like a bit of luxury, particularly when we know that student-athletes need support and education right now on issues like contracts and personal branding. So yes, I say teach it all, but understand that some of what needs to be taught are pressing issues based on the NIL ecosystem that we created - so let’s start there.

Thanks again to Sports Business Journal for publishing my piece on local brands and NIL activation - you can read the original here https://buff.ly/3ThcRwV (or if you don't have an SBJ subscription ☹️, you read on my site at https://buff.ly/3D13CeO)

NIL stewards must provide activation playbook locally While there have been some national brands that have been quick to develop a strategy for marketing around name, image and likeness, it’s the local brands that have jumped in with both feet.

According to Influencer Marketing Hub’s studies, 1.7% is the average engagement rate for social media influencers. The average engagement rate of student-athletes posting on behalf of brands is 5.4%. Read more at https://buff.ly/3h09YCN