NIL by the Numbers: YTD 2024

According to the NCAA NIL data dashboard, the average disclosed value of D1 NIL deals through 10/31/2024 is $2,618, while the median disclosed value is only $72. This is a great illustration of the wide gap in the value of the deals. Let’s take a look at some of the other data.

54.5% of all disclosed deals are between $0-$100. When you add in deals between $100 and $5,000, that brings the total to 91.5%. The data tells us that most deals are way smaller than the big endorsement deals in the headlines and social media. D1 athletes are signing more small deals to generate income, most likely with multiple partners.

Whether you look at the average or the median, the math tells us most athletes have multiple deals. The average total earnings for a D1 athlete YTD is $23,110. Divide that by the average value of $2,618, that’s just an average of 8.8 deals per athlete. When you look at the median, the total earnings is $590. Divided by $72, that’s an average of 8.2 deals.

There is no information on how many partners each athlete is working with, but it’s likely many athletes have multiple agreements happening during the academic year. The support of available to athletes to manage their commitments depends on the school and the resources available through their program or collective. It’s fair to say that outside of major conferences, many athletes rely on coaches, friends and family to help them navigate NIL.

When you look at the distribution of deals across different sports, football is still the dominant player with 42%. Men’s basketball is a distant second at 11.5%, followed by Men’s baseball at 8.7% and Women’s basketball at 7.1%. That leaves about 30% of all NIL deals for all other sports combined.

It will be interesting to watch the data to see if the distribution begins to broaden out, or stay consolidated at the top. If you want to check out all the data here’s the link:

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NIL Legislation Outlook for 2025

Former Auburn football coach turned U.S. senator Tommy Tuberville made waves this month when he made comments at the Monday Morning Quarterbacks Club in Birmingham, Alabama.

He stated there should be some form of “penalty” for athletes who break contracts. Senator Tuberville was vague on exactly what kind of penalties he had in mind, but he made it clear NIL legislation was definitely something he plans to address in the next session.

He had previously sponsored Senate bill S.2495 titled “Protecting Athletes, Schools, and Sports Act of 2023” or the PASS Act with outgoing senator Joe Manchin. That bill did not contain any language that would have penalized athletes for breaking contracts, although it did contain restrictions on their ability to transfer.

Anything he plans to propose in 2025 will have to go through the Commerce Committee, which is expected to be led by Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, another proponent of passing some form of national NIL regulation. It will be interesting when Congress reconvenes at the end of January to see what potential new NIL legislation will be introduced.

Poll Results: NIL Knowledge Check

A few weeks back we asked our readers if the following statement was true or false:

“Colleges and Universities cannot limit NIL activities of their student-athletes”

75% of the responses said the statement was true. Unfortunately, the answer was false, so kudos to the 25% who answered correctly.

There are many states that have laws in place that restrict what type of NIL agreements athletes can enter into, and it’s up to the school to monitor and make sure they comply. Also, schools have NIL policies that limit when and where athletes can conduct NIL activities. It makes sense that coaches and administrators would not want football players conducting NIL activities during games or while at practice.

Also, there are intellectual property limitations that vary by state and program. Depending on the rules, athletes may not be able to use campus facilities for NIL activities.

The best practice for any athlete is to check with your coach and compliance office to make sure you are not violating policy when conducting NIL activities!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our poll, check out our latest poll below!