Marketers Are Rethinking NIL to Build Long-Term Brand Value

Put me in, coach. It may be the new (and growing) rallying cry among collegiate athletes looking to align their brands with, well, brand advertisers eager to broaden their reach. Since 2021, when the Supreme Court rejected an NCAA appeal of its antitrust lawsuit — thus allowing college athletes to be paid for their "name, image, and likeness" (NIL) — several brands have joined the field. In the last several months, for example, Uber signed Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (scion of the Manning football dynasty). Skincare brand Paula's Choice penned a deal with UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd. And Italian sports brand LOTTO announced a sponsorship with Loradana Paletta, a 14-year-old soccer prodigy, among other deals.

But as the 2025 fall college sports season kicks off in late August, the NIL landscape has been transformed by the House v. NCAA settlement, a legal decision that allows colleges to pay athletes directly.

The decision introduces new rules designed to reduce the influence of boosters and ensure sponsorships are above-board, including a requirement that all deals exceeding $600 must be approved by the College Sports Commission. As part of the decision, the NCAA will pay nearly $2.8 billion in back damages over the next 10 years to athletes who competed in college at any time from 2016 through present day.

Against that backdrop, brand advertisers that want to expand their NIL efforts may need a new playbook — one that doesn't simply follow the ad strategies for working with professional athletes.

The NIL market is also experiencing some growing pains. According to ANA member SponsorUnited's "NIL Endorsements Report 2024-25," the number of NIL deals fell 20 percent in the last year, to 470. More than half of the brands only posted one time with the athlete in the previous year. "Brands are focusing on tailored, long-term deals with student-athletes while discontinuing short-term campaigns," the report says.

"The Gold Rush is over. NIL has entered its next phase," says Bob Lynch, founder and CEO of SponsorUnited, a sports and entertainment intelligence platform that tracks brands' sponsorships of athletes." Since 2021, the number of brands participating in NIL has tripled [from 316 in 2021 to 1,011 in 2024], but the approach has matured.

"With revenue-sharing dollars flowing directly from athletic departments, NIL becomes less about supplementing income and more about building identity," Lynch adds. "Athletes are no longer fighting for compensation, they're earning it, and brands are adjusting accordingly."

The technology category led the way in spending, with a 29 percent jump in NIL deals year-over-year, driven by EA Sports' record payout offer for College Football 26, the largest single-sport NIL agreement ever.

Among some of the other salient trends highlighted in the report: women athletes' social posts exceed those of men (75 percent of the top 150 social posts were by women), collegiate basketball is the most popular sport for deals, and TikTok is an underutilized channel in the NIL space.

"With revenue-sharing rules on the horizon, NIL is evolving rather than fading," Lynch says. "As schools begin directly compensating athletes, brands must now offer something schools can't: a platform for identity, cultural connection, and purpose-driven journeys. For marketers, this means targeting programs where a sport, regardless of gender, has disproportionate cultural or economic impact."

Devising New Plays

Brands looking to align their message with collegiate athletes should seek out partners who align with their strategic goals. For example, since 2022, ANA member Dexcom, which produces glucose monitors, has grown Dexcom U, an NIL program spotlighting college athletes with diabetes. Since 2022, the company has sponsored 40 students across 38 schools and 19 sports, including Clarke Byram, a pole vaulter for the University of Tennessee, and Alabama A&M's hoops star Shelomi Sanders, who has 485,000 followers on Instagram.

"We try to be intentional about getting a cross-section of multiple different sports, and good representation from around the country, because college sports tend to be quite local," says Leverne Marsh, EVP of global marketing at Dexcom. "When the athletes are sharing their tips and tools for what they're doing to manage diabetes better, they often talk about their Dexcom device."

Raising Cane's has a varied NIL strategy. The restaurant chain recently partnered with Manning, the Longhorns' quarterback, and Garrett Nussmeier, quarterback for LSU, for a commercial that recently debuted on social media (and features some of the other members of the famed Manning brood). The company also sponsors women's volleyball players from a range of schools, including Shea Bruntmyer and Jade Demps, who play for LSU.

Some brands have invested in dozens or even hundreds of athletes. For instance, last December clothing brand Hollister paid athletes across the country to promote a new line of vintage college-branded attire. The campaign resulted in 220 athletes posting 400 Instagram and TikTok posts in a single day.

"There's an opportunity to flood the airwaves over a short period of time with social media content done at scale," says Bill Jula, CEO of Postgame, a sports marketing agency specializing in college sports. "When you have content created by so many athletes at once, some of it turns out really well and should also be used in a brands paid media strategy."

Other brands have built their NIL strategies using a few big-name athletes. Take ANA member State Farm. Last fall, the property and casualty insurance giant enlisted USC basketball phenom JuJu Watkins for a new creative, "How I Got Here," showcasing the "assists" the hoops star has gotten from her family throughout her career.

"Fans today follow individual players more than teams, especially younger generations," says Patty Morris, head of brand at State Farm. "By building a roster of core athletes that State Farm can follow as they develop into players and powerhouses throughout their careers, we're able to reach these younger fans, build brand affinity, and drive cultural relevancy."

Key takeaway: Marketers should pair college athletes with personal attributes that fit their brand. It helps if they have an established social media presence and regularly create original content. "It's important to create relationships that are authentic to your brand," Morris says. "Relationships with athletes, or any creator, should be collaborative, not transactional. Seek out athletes that can grow with your business."

The Rules of the Game

Agencies that specialize in NIL can help negotiate fair deals and ensure that the athletes, who are often inexperienced with business, understand what's involved. "It can be a bit of an education," says Matt Chelap, SVP of marketing at Octagon, a global sports and entertainment agency whose clients include BMW, Mastercard, and The Home Depot. "Some athletes are very sophisticated and have representation, but with others, you might have to teach them what a W-9 form or exclusivity agreement means."

Brands may face a new set of NIL regulations. U.S. Congress is now mulling a bill that would standardize the NIL regulatory landscape. In July, the Trump administration issued an executive order calling for regulations of the burgeoning market.

Until the dust settles, brands will have to navigate a complicated patchwork of existing rules.

"With NIL, brands and agencies must navigate NCAA rules, state laws, and individual school policies, all of which can vary widely," says Caroline Ryan, VP of brand marketing and head of talent strategy at Excel Sports Management, which has a dedicated NIL practice. The unit has worked with Outback Steakhouse on the company's NIL program, Outback TeamMATES, and audio company JLab, which launched an NIL program late last year and now has 58 athletes and 17 Division I schools in the NIL campaign. "Some schools might allow athletes to use official logos and IP in brand deals, while others do not."

Key takeaway: NIL represents a major opportunity for brands, but they need to be on their toes as the market starts to advance and new wrinkles emerge. "The industry continues to change," Chelap says. "College sports have undergone a monumental change this summer with the House agreement, but there's more on the horizon. You really have to stay up-to-date on the industry and what's happening, because in some cases, you're not just breaking rules, you could be breaking state laws."