What is an NIL Valuation?

As it has been for decades with any budding industry or business vestment, the world of NIL has seen a significant amount of growth since its inception in the summer of 2021. 

From universities and states releasing their own separate NIL guidelines for brands and student athletes to billboards in Times Square and beyond, the world of NIL has not merely walked onto the stage of sports marketing—it’s sprinted across and left a sizable trail for its marketing competitors to follow. 

Why is this the case? A lot of it has to do with the nature of digital marketing and the generations affected by newer high school and college NIL rules.

What is an NIL Valuation?

Before we jump to the nitty gritty, let’s start with the basics. 

An NIL valuation is just like any other valuation: it estimates the monetary value of a sports player’s Name, Image, and Likeness. This is usually determined by things such as a player’s success in their respective sport, popularity and recognizeability, and followers on various social media platforms.

NIL valuations are meant to act as a guidebook for how lucrative an athlete’s following, performance, and popularity directly influence their NIL value, or the potential ROI both brands could see from working with an athlete, and an athlete should see from working with a brand.

On3 NIL Valuation

The most widely-known of these NIL valuations is posted and updated by On3. On3 sets annual NIL valuations for both high school and college athletes based on a proprietary algorithm that takes into account three main categories unique to each athlete: Performance, influence, and exposure. To view On3’s NIL rankings, visit their site here.

What is the Average NIL Deal Worth?

This is a bit of a loaded question. The average size of an NIL deal is completely dependent on the sport, the level, and the brand that’s partnering with an athlete. For example, you have SEC deals  like Cash App’s with Bryce Young, valued at $800,000, and smaller time NIL business moves like the lacrosse clinic Emelie Curtis, a player at Duquesne Univeristy, taught in Pittsburgh for $475. 

The average value of an NIL deal also varies team to team, not just sport to sport. For example, the average college football player makes around $3,400 a month from their NIL. However, right now, Auburn football players knock this number out of the water, making an average of $7,400 a month on NIL deals alone.

How Does NIL Make Money?

Landmark legislation went into effect in the summer of 2021 that made it legal for high school and college athletes to profit off of their NILs (Name, Image, and Likenesses). Overnight, college and high school athletes across the country could be approached by any brand or business and begin a business partnership. 

And many of them did just that. Because of the power of their status as athletes, brands were eager to have these athletes as a part of their marketing strategies in the hopes to convert more customers with a larger, personal, and more powerful way to access audiences. Hence the wave we’ve seen of these athletes posting on their social platforms promoting a company’s products or services, doing photo shoots for a product debut, etc. 

Over the course of the last year, it is estimated that $917 million was made from NIL deals. This coming year, the spend is estimated to top $1 billion.

Looking to Add College Athletes to Your Digital Marketing Strategy?

We have great news: You’re already within reach of a multitude of potential NIL deal options. IconSource is an online marketplace that connects athletes with brands and brands with athletes. 

Our platform shows an athlete’s statistics, followings, and past deal sizes to help brands pick the right representative for their goals. Athletes and brands can discuss contract details as well as edit and sign contracts all on the platform.
What are you waiting for? Create an account on IconSource today.

Drew Butler
You only have control over three things in your life: The thoughts you think The images you visualize The actions you take

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