Report: Athletes Pocket $917 Million in Year One of NIL
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PITTSBURGH -- If you're looking for the Pitt Panther athletes that profited the most from the influx of NIL money in college sports, you're likely to find them at the football team's practice facility on the South Side. Football players were unsurprisingly the biggest beneficiaries of liberalized Name, Image and Likeness rules, as they hauled in nearly half of all NIL compensation during the past year.
NIL has existed in its current state for a little over a year and athletes have made a collective $917 Million during that period, according to a report from Axios published on Wednesday. 49.9% of that money went to football players and there was a big drop off between them and athletes from other sports.
Men's basketball players took home a 17% share of that money and women's basketball trailed with a 15.7% share. No other sport even approached double digits. women's volleyball made up 2.3% of the total money, followed by softball (2.1%), women's swimming and diving (1.8%), Baseball (1.7%), men's swimming and diving (1.4%) and both men's and women's track (2.2% combined).
According to the same report, more than 100,000 athletes signed deals and the average transaction was worth $1,815.
Pitt has made a conscious attempt to promote the charitable ways in which their athletes have used their NIL rights. Quarterback Kenny Pickett and offensive tackle Carter Warren hosted events at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania, long snapper Cal Adomitis raised money for UPMC Children's Hospital and receiver Tre Tipton founded an organization working advocating for the mental health of athletes in particular.
But Pitt athletes are also exercising their rights to benefit themselves. Pickett signed a deal with Bowser Automotive that earned him a new truck, various football and basketball player created branded merchandise and multiple women's soccer and volleyball players have partnered with and promoted a few local businesses.
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