Less 'Day in the Life' content for NIL deals

And the reasoning behind the shift

Author

Tariq Ahmad
August 06, 2025

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I wrote a longer newsletter for NIL Wire last week detailing this subject.

Less 'Day in the Life' content for NIL deals

And the reasoning behind the shift

‘A Day in the Life’ graphic (Photo Credit: tunstallteachingtidbits.com)

I was recently chatting with a fellow NIL colleague about content. (Shameless plug: We were conversing on the NIL 411 Slack channel. Email me if you’d like an invite!)

We got on the subject of what’s working and what’s not with regards to content, and he shared a gem with me from a conference he recently attended:

Brands and social media managers are over and done with "Day in the Life" content. It's overdone, not authentic, and too cookie cutter. They want to partner with creators who have original ideas.

The thought process

  • Completely agree with this take

    • Upon reflecting on his comment, it makes sense that brands are not impressed with this type of content anymore. It definitely had a good run, but it’s time for fresh content ideas.

    • I have seen some pretty creative Day in the Life content - especially when athletes organically insert a brand partner into the video. (ie., I’m getting ready for practice, and I always have some Body Armor Sugar Free Lemon Lime before heading out.)

  • Athletes that can bring unique pitches to brands will win

    • As noted by my colleague, unique angles on content partnerships are beneficial for brands, as well as for athletes who want to collab with said brands.

    • For example, I was able to get some headphones for a few athletes on my roster. One of the athletes, who is a punter, said, “I’m going to film myself wearing the headphones while punting after practice.” Genius.

      • While this was a reactive content idea from the athlete, pitching this proactively to a brand could potentially lead to a higher response rate.

  • What type of content should be created?

    • ‘Behind the Scenes’ content generally does well - especially around filming for NIL partnerships. Additionally, the athlete showcasing brands as authentically as possible will usually generate higher engagement rates.

    • Athletes also have a unique advantage in that they can tie in their sport to content creation. Along with the punter example above, a cross country athlete could track their calories and heart rate with a watch brand they partner with.

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