Epsilon Announces NIL Deal for All Women's March Madness Players
On the eve of March Madness, Epsilon and Opendorse have forged a strategic partnership to promote equity for female student-athletes in the Women’s Division I Basketball Championship. The novel "Work Together to Win Together” initiative, which will run through April 30th, is open to all participants in the upcoming tournament.
The campaign will center around Epsilon's core value of collaboration and will require those players who opt-in to make a post on Instagram detailing what teamwork means to them. Each player who accepts Epsilon's offer will receive $500 for their message. In addition to monetary compensation, Epsilon will provide free career planning resources and mentorship opportunities for participating players.
Epsilon turned to trusted NIL industry leader Opendorse to power the back end of their campaign. Opendorse has helped over 135,000 athletes monetize their NIL since 2012, and has been a major force in allowing brands to seamlessly turn to student-athlete marketing campaigns since the inception of collegiate NIL in 2021.
According to a 2023 report, women's collegiate basketball players generate only 20% as much as their male counterparts in NIL earnings. Much of this pay discrepancy is due to the rise of NIL collectives and those entities' focus on men's revenue athletics. While Epsilon cannot change the systemic inequity created by the economic preferences of the 'pay for play' system of college athletics, the company has chosen to help illuminate women student-athletes where they already shine: brand deals.
Daryl Rappe, senior director of recruiting and former Division I basketball player, emphasizes the weight of this program: “The commitment to empowering female athletes, particularly providing them with opportunities to capitalize on their own identities and achievements, resonates deeply with me. I’ve had the opportunity to grow my career at Epsilon over the past seven years, I am proud to work for a company that believes in supporting women and the power of what’s possible when we ‘Work Together to Win Together’ – on and off the court.”
With notable inequity in men's and women's NIL earnings, it will be interesting to see the velocity of brands entering the women's hoops space. With considerable attention being drawn to the sport through transcendent stars like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, this could be the year we see brands flock to the women's tournament. Epsilon has shifted the narrative beyond the stars and moved to support the women's tournament as a whole.
