Clemson NIL Collective Received $3.95 Million in 2022 Contributions
Clemson's TigerImpact revealed in IRS filings that it received a staggering $3.95 million in contributions in 2022, paying out approximately $2.4 million to Clemson student-athletes in NIL deals from the date of its founding in April 2022 through the end of the year.
The average NIL contract facilitated by the collective was approximately $37,000 per athlete.
The majority of NIL deals at Clemson are with the school's football players. According to data provided to The Post and Courier via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, 539 of the 884 NIL deals that were disclosed to the university from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023 were with football players.
Of the $3.95 million that TigerImpact received in 2022, the collective spent $297,454 on salaries and wages. At the year's end, TigerImpact had a balance of $1,814,346 – close to $1.2 million was "earmarked" for contracts that still had not been paid out in full.
The value of NIL, according to then executive director Bobby Couch, is not just in the money that the student-athletes earn. By engaging in NIL initiatives with TigerImpact, student-athletes were able to develop business skills and learn how to grow a personal brand that could be used to help others.
"The model is evolving, but sustainability, in my opinion, lies in what the student athletes 'get out of NIL,'" Couch said in a text message to The Post and Courier. "It's more than just monetary."
TigerImpact was set up as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Heading into 2024, however, 110 Society is becoming the official NIL partner of Clemson Athletics, operating as a commercial enterprise.
"Supporting collectives and fundraising for NIL opportunities for student-athletes has become imperative in this day and age of college athletics, and I'm excited to see how Clemson's dedicated fans, sponsors and local businesses will support the 110 Society to help propel Clemson Athletics forward," said Head Football Coach Dabo Swinney.
