NIL Newsletter #116 | Meta's NIL Empower 2.0, UCLA WSOC's Ally Lemos, NIL state law updates + ICYMI Ticker
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for student athletes, administrators, agents and other sport professionals.
Recapping NIL This Week:
Meta launches NIL Empower 2.0 class with 30 female student athletes
Meta has unveiled its second NIL Empower class. With a focus on education, mentorship, career coaching and brand connections, 30 women athletes from across nine conferences will have the opportunity to increase their NIL value on Facebook and Instagram.
As part of their partnership with the technology conglomerate, athletes will sit in educational sessions with Meta and NIL experts. The classes will include lessons on the best practices on Facebook and Instagram, specifically with a focus on reels and monetization. This will put the student-athletes at an advantage to build their social media following and cash in with their NIL.
Four-time WNBA All-Star Alana Beard will also sit down for a career development workshop with the selected athletes. She is now the founder of Transition Play, which is a platform focusing on the talent development of athletes. Athletes will also be assigned an NIL mentor where they will be given one-on-one access. The first iteration of the initiative launched last fall.
Kristi Dosh of the Business of College Sports announced that she will be serving as one of the three mentors - more info on that HERE.
Meta is not the first organization to use NIL as a marketing tool. Sprouts Farmers Market signed 50 women to NIL deals to celebrate Title IX’s anniversary. Bumble also announced a very similar deal with 50 more female athletes.
Steinberg Sports signs UCLA Midfielder Ally Lemos as first female NIL client
UCLA midfielder Ally Lemos is the first female athlete to be signed by Steinberg Sports & Entertainment for NIL representation. Lemos is part of UCLA’s No. 1 ranked freshman class in the nation this year and is ranked No. 22 overall by Top Drawer Soccer.
She attended San Dimas High School and was named the San Gabriel Valley Tribune Soccer Player of the Year and to the All-Area, All-CIF and all-league first teams.
“We are honored to welcome Ally to the SSE family,” said SSE CEO Chris Cabott. “SSE represents people of elite talent and elite character. Ally embodies both as an athlete and as a person, so this is a natural fit. Her agent at SSE, Patrick Murphy, is one of the best and brightest talent representatives that I have ever met. I believe in his vision for Ally, and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
“Ally Lemos is an exemplary young woman both on and off the pitch and a rising star in women’s soccer,” said agent Patrick Murphy. “We are honored and excited to welcome Ally into the SSE family, and I look forward to representing her in NIL opportunities.”
“It’s a dream come true to be joining the SSE family, and I’m so honored to be both their first female athlete and soccer player represented in the NIL space,” said Lemos. “SSE represents many elite athletes, and I love the way they embrace and respect their athletes’ passions both on and off the field.”
On3’s investigation into state NIL laws finds little enforcement mechanisms, instances of complaints
In the first 14-plus months of the NCAA’s NIL era, legislators in 30 states have passed a law regarding NIL that is currently in effect, was previously in effect or will take effect in 2023. However, On3 conducted an analysis and couldn’t find official confirmation of a reported violation of a state NIL law or a state inquiry into a potential violation. Below were some of the answers reporters got back from officials:
Alabama’s Athlete Agents Commission is a division of the Secretary of State’s office that was charged with oversight and enforcement. When asked if Alabama’s since-repealed NIL law resulted in any reports of violations while it was in effect, the employee who answered had a simple response: “No.”
Nazneen Ahmed, the press secretary for the North Carolina Department of Justice and Attorney General Josh Stein, responded, “I do not have anything for you on this.”
Carri Grube Lybarker of the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs said, “We fielded a lot of questions on that,” regarding the since-suspended state law’s registration requirements for agents. However, “We didn’t have any investigations into any unlicensed activities,” she said.
Maine’s state law just took effect in early August. However, prior to its effective date, an employee in the attorney general’s office wrote in an email, “I don’t think the AG’s office will actually have any enforcement role in this law once it has taken effect.”
A representative from the press office for California Attorney General Rob Bonta responded in email that any complaints submitted to the office are general considered to be part of a potential or ongoing investigation. They’re exempt from disclosure. Victoria LaCivita, the director of communication for Virginia’s Office of the Attorney General, said in an email that the office is unable to comment.
ICYMI Ticker
Maryland AD Damon Evans on UMD’s new NIL marketplace: “NIL continues to be significant for us here at Maryland. We want to make sure that we're providing all of our student athletes an opportunity to maximize and be fairly compensated for the use of their NIL. And so we're trying to do all the things that we can to support them with that endeavor. So we launched the other day, Maryland marketplace, is a platform that has the profiles of all of our student-athletes. So donors, brands, sponsors can go to Maryland marketplace. They can look at all of our student athletes, and they can make connections with them. pitch them on different name, image, and likeness opportunities. You make that connection and we're just trying to make it easy for our student athletes to to earn some revenue, and let them know that we support them. We're gonna continue to find ways to do so.”
“For right now, it is a reality,” Purdue AD Mike Bobinski said on Gold and Black LIVE regarding NIL collectives. “And it’s something that we can’t afford, I don’t believe if we’re truly trying to position ourselves for success, to look the other way and say we’re just not going to participate in that. That’s not an answer that I think makes sense for us. We’ve got to be in it.”
“We can never predict what can happen legally,” California Interscholastic Federation Executive Director Ron Nocetti said ahead of the CIF’s fall conference, “but state law applies to collegiate athletes not high school. Our bylaw hasn’t changed. This is new territory for everybody. We think we’re on good footing. CIF membership is voluntary. They agree to be members and follow our rules.”
Student athletes at North Carolina reported more than 650 NIL deals worth more than $1 million in the first year that they were allowed to take part in those agreements. Athletes are not required to report their deals to the athletic department, which estimates that about half of the deals were reported. 27 SAs hired marketing agents, according to the athletic department's annual report for the 2021-22 academic year.
Every Grambling State athlete will have the opportunity to individually appear in an ad in Times Square to promote HBCU League Pass+. HBCU League Pass+ is a live, on-demand sports network that’s focused on historically Black colleges and universities. More than 300 Grambling State athletes will have the opportunity to participate in the NIL deal, while wearing official Grambling State apparel. The digital billboard will be located at 1540 Broadway in New York City and every participating athlete will be featured at least once for 15 seconds.
Mick Assaf did not foresee the Derby NIL Club being drawn into the crosshairs of Louisville’s loss this weekend. But the timing could not have been worse for the YOKE co-founder and CEO. After the Cardinals 31-7 loss at Syracuse, reports emerged on how the Derby City NIL Club’s new monthly goal had dropped to $2,500. Of that, $455 has been raised. The goal was actually adjusted on Sept. 1. Two weeks ago when the club launched, the monthly goal had been set at $50,000.
Louisiana-based delivery service ASAP, previously known as Waitr, has offered all LSU student athletes an NIL partnership for the launch of the academic year. Each LSU SA who accepts the offer will promote the rebranded app on their social media accounts. SAs will receive compensation for all orders that originate from their social media posts. MatchPoint Connection, a Baton Rouge-based NIL marketplace, will facilitate deals.
USC football players Jordan Addison and Tuli Tuipulotu signed with Fletcher Jones Mercedes. Fletcher Jones Mercedes partnered with BLVD, and now the two USC football SA’s will be driving Mercedes S500s this season.
Auburn and Dyehard Fan Supply announced a joint initiative to bring a broad-based NIL merchandise program in support of Auburn SAs.
Hofstra and INFLCR have launched the Pride Of Long Island Exchange.
Iowa State has a new licensing partnership with Campus Ink.
Wake Forest and The Brandr Group have launched group licensing for all student athletes.