Why am I not getting any NIL deals?

And what you should be focusing on

Author

Tariq Ahmad
May 14, 2025

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Why am I not getting any NIL deals?

And what you should be focusing on

Image of college athletes and cash. (Photo Credit: thewrap.com)

I receive this question from student-athletes regularly.

Some athletes want some deals.

Some athletes want all the deals.

Some athletes only want deals that resonate with them.

So, how do they begin?

Here’s what I tell them

  • Let’s first build your personal brand

    • A brand is not going to work with you unless they know who you are. And while they might not talk to you initially, they can get a sense of who you are from your social media profiles.

    • Ensure your social media profiles have a proper headshot, bio, sport, school, and a Linktree (or similar link in bio) showcasing your other accounts/websites.

    • Additionally, ensure you have usernames as close to your real name as possible. If you have a big game on national TV, and brands want to partner with you and find out your Instagram username is ‘orangemattress584733’ you’re probably not getting many deals (along with being harder to discover).

  • Create content regularly

    • Continuing from the first point: Ensure you have content that showcases who you are - both as an athlete and outside of sports.

    • A good mix is 2:1 (two athletic posts for every lifestyle post), content that is both images and video, and ensure you are posting consistently. (Aim for weekly, then ramp up as deemed fit.)

  • Don’t focus on deals

    • While this sounds counterintuitive, student-athletes that focus on building their personal brand while expecting nothing in return will generally see greater success on brand partnerships than athletes who just want merch and cash.

    • Your personal brand will serve you well beyond your playing days, so invest in yourself now to pay larger dividends later.

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