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Things are good when you and your team are winning.

Players are upbeat during practice.

Coaching staff is pleased with the team’s output.

Athletes are seeing progress on and off the court/field.

NIL deals are rolling in.

Or are they?

While NIL is agnostic of an athlete’s or team’s performance, is winning and losing important for an athlete’s NIL portfolio?

Does it matter?

• Brands generally partner with individual athletes, not with teams

  • Most NIL brand partnerships you see are with individual athletes - and for good reason; they see value in the person, not the team.

  • Brands are more focused on good content and engagement rates vs. conference standings.

• Stats go out the window

  • You scored 26 points per game for your basketball team last season? Good for you! That doesn’t excuse the fact you only made two social media posts during the season.

  • Again, the stats brands care about: engagement rates, click-through rates, follower counts, etc.

• Team success helps, but not as much as you think

  • If a team wins a national championship or makes the Final Four, there are definitely brands wanting to tap in to those athletes. However, those deals are short-lived and might not be mutually beneficial.

  • On the flip side: Colorado football hasn’t been having great success on the field recently. However, starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders recently signed an NIL deal with Nike and adds to his massive NIL portfolio.

Thank You for reading today’s newsletter

^{I discuss insights and news related to NIL and personal branding for athletes every Wednesday at 12p ET/9a PT.}

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