NIL Store Reaches $100,000 in November Athlete Royalty Payments
Athletes nationwide are cashing in on NIL endorsements and while many brands have actively engaged in influencer-based endorsement opportunities, few companies exist solely for student-athletes' benefit. Even fewer of these companies exist to provide a sustainable NIL platform where athletes deliver bonafide goods to fans. The NIL Store, a subsidiary of Campus Ink, is on this short-list.
Before NIL’s implementation in July 2021, student-athletes could not receive compensation for customized team apparel. Unlike their professional counterparts, collegiate programs could not offer royalty payment to players for jerseys – jerseys that sometimes bore the likeness of athletes either by name or jersey number.
The NIL Store rewrites this standard. Utilizing student-athletes’ newly granted ability to monetize their publicity rights, the NIL Store created a marketplace for player merchandise that was previously prohibited. Offering custom jerseys, t-shirts, and hoodies bearing the NIL of current student-athletes, the NIL Store creates value for fans and an income for student-athletes.
The NIL Store is notoriously athlete-centric, always going above and beyond for their student-athletes. Adam Cook, VP of Campus Ink Sports, outlines what separates them from others in the industry:
“We take pride in providing a platform for athletes across the country to sell officially licensed, high-quality NIL merchandise that their supporters will wear proudly. It’s really important to us for custom designs to work with athletes from start to finish to ensure they approve of the merchandise being created on their behalf while also providing them with marketing tools to help build their brands and improve their sales. Most importantly, our athletes know exactly how much they’ll earn on every sale and can track it in real-time. We try to be really transparent about that with the athletes and the customers and are very committed to earning our athletes more than anyone else in the merch game.”
The NIL Store launched in the fall of 2021 exclusively for the University of Illinois Men’s basketball team. Over the last two years, the NIL Store has grown exponentially, establishing its offerings at forty-six NCAA Division-I Universities.
The hasty implementation of NIL created a vacuum in the collegiate apparel industry for athlete-licensed attire. Without a union for college athletes, negotiations for purchasing NIL rights lack the same player-side leverage as the licensing deals of professional athletes represented by their respective players associations.
The NIL Store could have easily exploited its leverage and early entry into the market; however, it chose to facilitate an equitable marketplace. Cook recognizes the challenging realities student-athletes face in NIL negotiations and utilizes fairness as a long-term strategy:
“From day one, we’ve been committed to putting athletes first in an industry in which their voice has always been the last one heard. A big part of that is providing opportunities for every athlete regardless of sport or following. That will never change for us. As the industry matures, we’re starting to see many of the upstart companies and agencies that looked to make a quick buck fade away, and the organizations truly in it for the right reasons are sticking around for the long haul.”
The NIL Store offers student-athletes royalty rates between 20-30%. Compared to others in the industry, this figure is unprecedented. Sports apparel giant Fanatics is reported to give a 4% royalty to athletes on NIL merchandise –– a royalty that comes before a 30% group licensing fee.
From Friday, November 24, to Monday, November 28, the NIL Store offered 20% off sitewide on all products. Staying committed to their athlete-centric mindset, none of the athlete-commissions were reduced due to the sale. The NIL Store’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday offer was a massive success, providing a late surge to the company’s November sales. In November alone, the NIL Store raised over $100,000 in royalty earnings for student-athletes.
Do not be alarmed if your loved ones gift you collegiate apparel this holiday season. You can sleep well at night knowing that the athlete whose name is on the back of your new jersey had their stocking stuffed by the NIL Store.
