![\"NIL](\"https:\/\/secureservercdn.net\/198.71.233.31\/s4s.46a.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/NIL-Digital-Marketplaces.jpg?time=1632368870\" "\\"NIL")
<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nNow that collegiate athletes are permitted to monetize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), there have been dozens and dozens of companies gearing up to help athletes secure endorsements, appearances, and other NIL-related opportunities. Some have been working with professional athletes for years while others have launched recently with collegiate athletes in mind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
While many of these companies seem similar at face value, they all have unique offerings and different visions for how to best help athletes monetize their NIL. NIL Network met with the leading digital marketplaces to understand their business model, foundations, and unique traits.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Disclaimer:<\/em><\/strong> Company descriptions and offerings have been provided by the founders of these businesses. Due to the novel nature of the NIL industry, it\u2019s not yet possible to verify these services. This list is in alphabetical order, provided for informational purposes only, and NIL Network has no monetary affiliation or partnership with any of these companies.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company: <\/strong>98Strong<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.98strong.com\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Instagram: <\/strong>@98strong_<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Year Founded: <\/strong>2021<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n About the Founders: <\/strong>Founded by Andrew Mavis and Nick Bunn, two lifelong friends, teammates and former water polo student-athletes. Mavis played at George Washington University while Bunn played at Harvard University.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company Mission: <\/strong>To allow ALL student-athletes, including the 98% who won\u2019t go pro, to monetize their NIL in the easiest way possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Unique Attributes: <\/strong>98Strong competes for the student-athlete while they compete in their sport. Once a student-athlete signs up to join the 98Strong community, their proprietary platform immediately puts the student-athlete in a position to get sponsorship deals regardless if they have 1,000 followers or 500,000. Athletes of all levels will receive opportunities directly to their email and they can choose the deals they want to take.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Other Benefits: <\/strong>98Strong will never send a student-athlete a monetization opportunity that will jeopardize their eligibility. 98Strong also forwards all email monetization alerts for student-athletes to university compliance officials so it\u2019s easier for student-athletes and all parties can be informed of sponsorship opportunities. A more advanced version of the platform is coming soon that will include educational courses on brand building and financial literacy while also helping student-athletes connect with sponsors in even more efficient ways.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Athletes: <\/strong>Free<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Brands: <\/strong>Varies on a brand\u2019s selected marketing campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cWe were the 98%, now we\u2019re fighting for them. For years there have been limited opportunities for the 98% of college student-athletes who don\u2019t turn pro to make money off their sport. 98Strong is thrilled to bring value to ALL student-athletes and help them get the sponsorship deals they would have never seen, just by joining our community. We\u2019re excited to bring opportunities to our members in the few states confirmed for July 1 of this year.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company: <\/strong>CleanKonnect<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website: <\/strong>https:\/\/cleankonnect.com\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Instagram: <\/strong>@cleankonnect<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Year Founded: <\/strong>2020<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n About the Founders: <\/strong>Zain Motani<\/a> is an ardent high school basketball fan and co-host of the High School Basketball Happenings Podcast<\/a> with Paul Biancardi.\u00a0 He has eight years of experience in digital marketing, operations, and technology at Red Ventures. Fayyaz Adatia<\/a> is a huge hoops fan and is passionate about using technology to help others. He has 10 years of consulting experience and is using those skills to help athletes get paid, legally.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company Mission: <\/strong>To help high school and college athletes get paid legally and efficiently so they can focus on their academics and sports.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Unique Attributes:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Other Benefits: <\/strong>CleanKonnect also provides end-of-year tax guidance to all of its athletes, and non-fungible token creation for digital assets (e.g. college commitment announcements).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Athletes: <\/strong>Free to use, transaction fee taken on deals completed<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Brands: <\/strong>Free<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cN<\/em>o one fully knows exactly what the world will look like on July 1<\/em>st<\/sup><\/em>, which is exciting and scary at the same time.\u00a0 With great unknown comes great opportunity.\u00a0 Now more than ever it\u2019s imperative that athletes are vigilant and aware of how they can legally make money leveraging their name, image, and likeness without jeopardizing their eligibility.\u00a0 CleanKonnect is committed to providing this guidance and support for its athletes so they can navigate these unchartered waters while focusing on their academics and sports.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company: <\/strong>Dreamfield<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.dreamfield.co\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Instagram: <\/strong>@dreamfieldco<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Year Founded:<\/strong> 2020<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n About the Founders: <\/strong>Three Founders: Luis Pardillo, Andrew Bledsoe, and Aaron Marz.\u00a0 All three have previously started and exited previous businesses. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company Mission: <\/strong>To be the First-to-Market leader in connecting collegiate athletes with clients for talent booking opportunities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Unique Attributes: <\/strong>Primary focus on in-person appearances\/ live events.\u00a0 The platform drives its own agreements between parties versus allowing businesses to upload their agreements.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Other Benefits: <\/strong>Collect and remit sales tax, integrating with compliance 3rd parties to integrate agreements to flow directly to compliance, collect payments and remit them to athletes to their mobile wallets, agreements are done in-app, provide 1099 tax documentation at EOY.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Athletes: <\/strong>Free<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Brands: <\/strong>15% transaction fee<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201c<\/em><\/strong>We see NIL as more than a college athlete\u2019s ability to access the free market, it\u2019s a decentralization of power from the institutions back into the hands of the athletes.\u00a0 We are proud to assist athletes in this new industry to transact safely and compliantly.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company: <\/strong>Gifted<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website: <\/strong>https:\/\/getyougifted.com\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Instagram: <\/strong>@thegiftedathletes<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Year Founded: <\/strong>2020<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n About the Founders:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company Mission: <\/strong>Afford Gifted minds the tools they need to represent themselves safely and professionally.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Unique Attributes: <\/strong>We aren\u2019t built for just athletes; we are built for individuals with Gifted skills and mindsets. Whether you are a fashion influencer, gamer, or tight-end, managing your NIL shouldn\u2019t be done on dashboards or through emails\/DMs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Other Benefits: <\/strong>IOS Mobile app, Contract Vetting, Personal Brand portfolio building, compliance reporting, Custom Contract Drafting, tax assistance, personalized education, and much more.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Athletes: <\/strong>$0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Brands: <\/strong>$0 (For now)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cGifted was built for the many, not the few. Gifted is a mobile application built for the growing creator economy. Whether it\u2019s your first deal or your five-hundredth, Gifted is here to help you, be you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company:<\/strong> Icon Source<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.iconsource.com\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Instagram: <\/strong>@iconsource_<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Year Founded: <\/strong>2018<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n About the Founders: <\/strong>Read about them here!<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company Mission:<\/strong> Icon Source was built by athletes to PROTECT and bring more opportunities to athletes and their agents.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Unique Attributes: <\/strong>Icon Source was created years before NIL was even talked about; we came into the market to streamline the Professional sports marketing deal flow. Icon Source is the only platform with a proven marketplace, track record, and has worked with the biggest athletes and brands, For example, we just did a deal with Microsoft and David Pollock. Anyone can create a platform, but it takes years of experience to understand how deals are done in the sports marketing industry. Chase Garret led Red Bull\u2019s athlete sports marketing program (largest sports marketing company in the world) and has closed 1000s of athlete deals. This knowledge and understanding of the complex deal process have allowed Icon Source to mimic the real-world process and why all the major sports agencies (76 agencies, WME, CAA, Wasserman, Rosenhaus, etc & 205 agents) and over 2000 professional athletes actively use the platform. We are the only platform that has ever done a deal between an athlete and a brand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Other Benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Athletes: <\/strong>Transaction fees apply<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Brands: <\/strong>Transaction fees apply<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201c<\/em><\/strong>Icon Source is excited to bring the same opportunities which currently exist for professional athletes to collegiate athletes while maintaining the highest level of protection.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company: <\/strong>Inked Sports<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.inkedsports.co\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Instagram: <\/strong>@inkedsports<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Year Founded: <\/strong>2019<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n About the Founders:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company Mission: <\/strong>To turn college athletes into icons and infuse brands into pop culture.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Unique Attributes<\/strong>: Putting athletes first, radical transparency, founders who closely relate to athletes<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Other Benefits: <\/strong>Compliance Reporting, Contract Tracking + Vetting, Mobile and Web Application<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Athletes: <\/strong>Free<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Brands: <\/strong>10% transaction fee<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be in a position where we can finally help our athlete peers leverage their name, image, and likeness just like any other student. We at Inked Sports are eager to put athletes in the best possible position to make great things happen with them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company: <\/strong>Jersey Sponsor<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website:<\/strong>\u00a0https:\/\/www.jerseysponsor.com\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Instagram: <\/strong>@jerseysponsor<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Year Founded: <\/strong>2019<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n About the Founders: <\/strong>Read about them here!<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company Mission: <\/strong>Our mission is to empower athletes with technology that grows with their career and equips them with the power to easily understand and leverage the unique opportunities they encounter at every stage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Unique Attributes: <\/strong>We\u2019re much more than an athlete sponsorship marketplace, we\u2019re creating revenue-generating opportunities and using tech and data to visualize the actual leverage possessed by athletes in real-time and giving them away to activate it.\u00a0 We\u2019ve created a toolbox that includes social networking and fundraisers to give athletes a place to go to immediately activate so many different opportunities at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Other Benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Athletes:<\/strong> Free<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Brands: <\/strong>15% transaction fee, monthly subscription for premium features (currently early bird special of $100)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201c<\/em><\/strong>We look forward to giving athletes the tools, resources, and transparency to activate and leverage the unique opportunities they possess and own while making sure they\u2019re protected every step of the way.\u00a0 We\u2019re an advocate and ally of their interests and hope to always maintain a company that not just talks but actually incorporates the elements and diverse interests of our global community.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company: <\/strong>Marketpryce<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.marketpryce.com\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Instagram: <\/strong>@marketpryce<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Year Founded: <\/strong>2021<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n About the Founder: <\/strong>Jason Bergman is the Co-Founder and CEO of MarketPryce and is a veteran in the sports marketing industry, where he saw the systemic issues with how endorsement deals get done. Spending three years as the first sales hire at OpenSponsorship, Jason helped brands ranging from one-person startups to Anheuser-Busch & Vitamin Shoppe work with professional athletes for marketing campaigns. During his time at OpenSponsorship, he saw brands struggle to consistently find the right athlete to work with and obtain a return on investment from a marketing Campaign. Jason saw first hand how hard it was to close marketing deals with professional athletes, but still never experienced the problem as an athlete or agent, so he started his own sports marketing agency called Jason Max Marketing where he represented 12 professional athletes, including NBA athletes like Monte Morris and NFL athletes like Avonte Maddox. The best businesses are built from solving problems and Jason has built MarketPryce using his years of experience both as a brand consultant at OpenSponsorship as well as a sports marketing agent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company Mission: <\/strong>To democratize athlete marketing, empowering any professional or college athlete to take marketing into their own hands.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Unique Attributes: <\/strong>Unlike most other marketplaces, MarketPryce never takes any commission from deals closed on the platform. We are the only relationship-driven platform, where other marketplaces are very transaction-focused. We allow our users to take conversations off the platform, which is incredibly important to us because we want to encourage communication between our users instead of restricting it, to keep deals as authentic as possible. Your network is your net worth as an athlete and direct communication with brands is essential to building that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n We also empower athletes to close product-only deals, without upfront cash involved. For athletes that have less than 1,000 followers on social media, it will be hard to make life-changing money from endorsement deals, but MarketPryce makes it easy to close product-only deals to help athletes get their foot in the door with many brands. Free product deals are a great first step in allowing athletes to test out a relationship with a brand (see if they like their product, see value in a partnership) and athletes on MarketPryce have received hundreds of thousands of dollars of free product from brands already.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Since our launch in January, we\u2019ve been adding 5-10 new companies on MarketPryce on a weekly basis, so we have new national and local brands for college athletes to connect with every day. Furthermore, we\u2019ve facilitated over 1,000 deals between 900+ professional athletes and 200+ brands like CBS Sports, Fashion Nova, PETA & more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Other Benefits: <\/strong>We help every student-athlete with 1 on 1 support for compliance reporting for any deal closed through MarketPryce and we have a built-in contract system to protect all student-athletes in both product and cash deals. MarketPryce manually approves every brand that signs up to MarketPryce, to protect all student-athletes from potential violations. Every athlete should know that their marketing partner is trustworthy and we do the vetting for them. App coming within the next 30 days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Athletes: <\/strong>$15 per month\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cost to Brands: <\/strong>Free<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cEveryone in the sports business world is definitely thrilled about NIL law changes, but it shouldn\u2019t just be us who are celebrating. Anyone who believes in fair compensation and individual autonomy should cheer for new NIL laws. We\u2019re so proud to be facilitating deals in this context. I was speaking with a female track & field student-athlete recently and she mentioned how \u201cNIL is only really going to affect the Basketball & Football players\u201d. I want to make sure that every student-athlete knows that this is NOT going to be the case. Every student-athlete, no matter your gender, sport or background, can bring immense value to brands on marketing deals, and we at MarketPryce want to empower every student-athlete in the country to capitalize on this new legislation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Company: <\/strong>Mogl<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website:<\/strong>\u00a0https:\/\/www.mogl.online\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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