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- Why a car NIL deal is not all that great
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Lamborghini vehicles and University of Texas athletes (Photo Credit: The Malaysian Reserve)
In the world of NIL deals, there are levels to it.
Free gear? Cool!
Product & cash? Awesome!
Partnering with a brand I regularly use? Dope!
Featured in a nationally televised commercial? I would have never imagined that!
A free car NIL deal? The pinnacle!!!
Or is it?
When I ran my NIL agency, I would regularly get asked about securing athletes NIL deals for vehicles.
As I always advised against it for athletes, you should know why.
Why not?
It’s not free
A common misconception is that a car NIL deal is free for the athlete. That is far from the truth.
The athlete is responsible for insurance, gas, parking pass on campus, any parking or speeding violations, any damage to the vehicle, and other costs that can accrue along the way.
And the biggest cost? Athletes need to file taxes on it, which is based on a percentage of the MSRP of the vehicle. (And naturally, the more expensive the car, the higher the MSRP, and the higher dollar amount to file on taxes.)
So while driving a Dodge Charger around town looks cool, beneath the hood are the above monetary requirements the general public doesn’t see.
Content requirements
Another ‘cost’ incurred is that auto NIL deals have social media posts that come with it.
Depending on the agreement, the athlete needs to post about their vehicle in an organic way (not just taking a picture of the car in their driveway once per month) at a predetermined cadence in order to keep the vehicle and be in good standing with the dealership.
Not doing NIL the right way
Athletes who generally ask for a car are not using their name, image and likeness properly. Instead, they are looking at the shortsightedness of having a vehicle because it looks cool.
Yes, there are certain athletes who will get vehicles based on their athletic status or the school they play at. But that’s the exception, not the rule.
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