UK Athletics Announce "BBNIL Exchange" Connecting Student-Athletes With NIL Opportunities

The portal will reportedly allow for easier connections between entities and student-athletes

The University of Kentucky Athletics Department has announced the launch of the “BBNIL Exchange,” a portal that can connect UK student-athletes with interested entities to make deals compensating for the use of their name, image and likeness. 

"The BBNIL Exchange is a free, user-friendly service to both student-athletes and those looking to do NIL deals. The exchange includes a safe directory and portal where businesses can connect with student-athletes to explore, negotiate and make NIL deals," according to a release from UK Athletics. 

“We are committed to working on behalf of our student-athletes in every way we can, including and especially in the NIL space,” Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. “The BBNIL Exchange is another exciting step for both our student-athletes and the local businesses that are such an important part of our community. Our young people are leaders in our region and therefore great brand ambassadors. This next step in building on our NIL empowerment programs will be beneficial for our great student-athletes and local businesses looking for excellent leaders to serve as their representatives.”

A business can register on the BBNIL Exchange thus allowing them to connect with student-athletes who have opted in as well. The entities can contact the athlete directly. 

The BBNIL Exchange is powered by INFLCR, which is the leading athlete brand-building and NIL business management app for elite athletic organizations. 

More from the UK Athletics release:

NIL deals completed within the BBNIL Exchange also include various automations to make transactions and disclosures easier for everyone. The app will include a payment processing tool for the business to securely and directly pay the student-athlete without transaction fees.

All disclosure and payment data automatically reports to UK’s existing INFLCR compliance portal, and any payments processed using this tool will be reported on a consolidated 1099 form that lives in the student-athlete’s INFLCR app for more efficient tax reporting.

UK and INFLCR will not be involved in any of the negotiations outside of monitoring disclosures to ensure they are compliant with UK policy and State law.