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Authenticity was key to McKinney’s NIL success

This is an excerpt from Sport Public Relations 4th Edition With HKPropel Access by G. Clayton Stoldt,Stephen W. Dittmore,Mike Ross.

In recent years, individual athlete brands have taken on increased importance in college athletics. In 2022, the updated National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) constitution enabled college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name–image–likeness (NIL), a term that describes the various ways their personal brands can be shared in market communication. Student-athletes now have the opportunity to market their own products or services (e.g., sports camps) and endorse others at fair market values, whether their compensation takes the form of cash or in-kind payment. The updated NCAA (2021) policy stipulated that NIL deals were permissible as long as they were established with parties outside the athletics department and were not contingent on a student-athlete attending a particular university (i.e., improper recruiting benefit) or attaining specific performance levels.

While a few college athletes have secured NIL deals reportedly worth millions of dollars, most agreements are far more modest. Opendorse, a company that partners with college athletes and programs to provide NIL opportunities, as well as NIL training, reported that as of fall 2023, average student-athlete compensation ranged from $8,571 at the NCAA Division I level to $208 at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level. The case study Fully Leveraging Name–Image–Likeness Opportunities shares the story of how one student-athlete used NIL to generate income and grow educationally and professionally.

How does authenticity relate to athlete branding?

As of the writing of this textbook, the NIL landscape was still fluid, because possible federal or additional state or even NCAA legislation could potentially change requirements and processes in the future. However, NIL will continue to enable college athletes to leverage their brands for financial benefit.

Case Study Fully Leveraging Name–Image–Likeness Opportunities Sydney McKinney, a softball player at Wichita State University (WSU), established herself as a model for how college athletes can fully benefit from NIL opportunities. McKinney was an All-America shortstop and played for Team USA, but her brand was much more than softball excellence. During her time at WSU, she was a painter, a supporter of Autism Speaks, an advocate for women’s sport, a dog-mom, and a future law school student (Suellentrop, 2022; Wyman, 2023). McKinney engaged in a range of NIL activities. She secured deals with Snapchat and Meta, created a painting for the opening of a local restaurant, headlined sports camps, and helped represent an NIL collective (i.e., a business that brokers NIL deals supported by businesses and donors). She engaged in numerous fan deals such as personal appearances. Across all her NIL work, McKinney used social media applications such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter (now X) to share her work and experiences, as well as engage with the public. McKinney was highly responsive, particularly in thanking others for opportunities and mentions. McKinney received compensation for her NIL activities, but additional income was not the only factor that motivated her. She shared: The money is great for me because, maybe it pays for some of my groceries and gas and rent, but I knew coming in I wasn’t going to make millions of dollars. And that’s not what I wanted to do; I wanted to make an impact, meet people that maybe will help me get a job in the future, make friends and connect with nonprofits. That kind of stuff is what really drives me with NIL. (McKinney, as quoted in Wyman, 2023, para. 3) Authenticity was key to McKinney’s NIL success (Suellentrop, 2022; Wyman, 2023). The values, interests, and causes she communicated were genuine, and she aligned her choices of NIL activities with her brand. Accordingly, McKinney attained the dual benefit of both near-term income and long-term advancement of her personal brand, educational experience, and career path. Discussion Questions How does Sydney McKinney’s NIL success story run counter to popular perceptions of NIL in college athletics? Based on McKinney’s values and interests, what other types of NIL activities might she have engaged in that would be aligned with her brand? Based on this case, what three key lessons about NIL success would you share with other college athletes?
More Excerpts From Sport Public Relations 4th Edition With HKPropel Access

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