NIL Rule Changes Make College Athletes Valuable For Advertising

 Written by: Tim Lussenhop

There has been discussion for years over whether or not college athletes should be able to make money during their time playing in the NCAA, but since July 1st players have been able to accept compensation. The official ruling is that players are allowed to be paid based on their name, image, and likeness opportunities (NIL). Most athletes are signing promotional deals with businesses and are utilizing their personal social accounts to post advertisements.

            In Champaign, University of Illinois athletes can provide valuable platforms for businesses to reach their target audiences. Trent Frazier has been on the Illini basketball team since 2017 and has built up a large fanbase in the Champaign-Urbana community. He has large followings across all of his social media accounts and can provide instant interactions between local businesses and potential customers. Health Alliance is a midwestern health insurer that has recently partnered with Frazier to post advertisements on his social media. Located in Urbana, they are currently working on a campaign to get people vaccinated in nearby areas. A major difference between Trent Frazier posting their advertisement compared to their own Health Alliance account is that he has 29k more followers. His following is also mostly made up of local residents already in Health Alliance’s target audience, so it is extremely beneficial for them to pay for this partnership.

            I expect that local businesses will utilize college athletes for their social media presence more as it is still a very new rule change. Their personal accounts are a valuable place for advertisements and promotions because it is an effective way to reach a specific audience, typically for a reasonable price. It is great that college athletes are finally able to get paid but they are not the only ones benefiting from this rule change.