Thank you for your continued support of this newsletter. Please share with anyone who would be interested in this content.

Follow Sports Court on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube for more NIL content!

Today’s Case

New volleyball brand Avoli signs three players to NIL deals ahead of the company’s launch later this month

Avoli (pronounced “Ah-Volley), the soon-to-launch volleyball shoe brand, announced their first-ever NIL deal with three college volleyball athletes: University of Texas Longhorns junior Reilly Heinrich, University of Nebraska Cornhuskers freshman Harper Murray and University of Virginia Cavaliers junior Ashley Le.

The trio will rep Avoli footwear, apparel and equipment in social media campaigns, promotion and events. The company’s products, which are specifically designed for female volleyball players, goes live later this month with one volleyball court shoe in five colorways ($130), a recovery slide ($50), knee pads ($35), sleeves, shorts, hoodies and graphic tees.

Avoli co-founder Rick Anguilla: “There are so many talented volleyball athletes that reflect the dynamic personality of the sport that it was challenging for us to decide with whom to partner to launch our brand. Harper, Ashley and Reilly represent the commitment to the sport we see across school and club teams and we’re thrilled to have them as our first brand ambassadors.”

The Verdict:

• Love seeing a growth of sport-specific brands forming, with some turning to NIL for a boost

  • Great to see Avoli taking a proactive approach to NIL ahead of their launch, as it provides a soild path to gain traction for their products.

    • Asics and Mizuno have also recently created women’s volleyball shoes to cater to this demographic, so Avoli is entering the space at the perfect time - and leveraging NIL is a smart approach.

  • This is also a similar approach to Moolah Kicks, which specializes in women’s basketball shoes, doing NIL deals for over 40 women’s hoopers to showcase the company’s products.

• Volleyball is a great sport for more NIL deals

  • Per the article: Volleyball trails only track and field for the top participatory sport for high school girls, and was the only top 10 sport to increase participation from three years ago.

    • With the growing number of women’s volleyball players across the U.S., look for more companies to create products specific to this audience, and potentially more NIL deals forthcoming for athletes.

• Players can wear brands not affiliated with their school off the court

  • With Heinrich and Le playing at Nike schools and Harper at an adidas school, the trio cannot wear Avoli products during matches and practices, but can wear them outside of team activities.

    • Many college athletes have signed NIL deals with athletic wear providers other than their school sponsor, so look for this trend to continue for subsequent NIL deals across all sports.

NIL is just getting started!

The space is just now entering its third year, with no signs of slowing down. Watch this video for more!

Thank You for reading today’s newsletter

<sup>I discuss insights and news related to name, image and likeness in 3 minutes or less every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12p ET/9a PT.

Please share with anyone who might be interested in this content.</sup>

Court is adjourned. Go be great!!