The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) logo is painted at the 2024 West Regional Cross Country Championships in Colfax, Wash. The NCAA covers over 1,000 colleges and universities around the nation across 24 sports. Photo courtesy of Eden Mittelsdorf
In 2021, the dynamic of college athletics changed when NCAA rules allowed athletes to benefit from their NIL, according to ESPN. Pepperdine University entered this new era alongside institutions nationwide.
NIL opportunities are available for athletes who want to engage in sponsorships. Pepperdine athletes said they are leveraging the university’s resources to enhance their own Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). However, as NIL remains new, athletic programs are still developing varied approaches to supporting their student-athletes in this space.
“NIL stands for Name, Image and Likeness, and that’s the acronym that’s been given to this space, but really what it is is the right of publicity,” said Alicia Jessop, an attorney and associate professor of Sport Administration at Pepperdine University.
The right of publicity exists across 40-plus states in America and gives citizens the right to financially benefit from their Name, Image and Likeness – the basis of NIL – Jessop said.
After new NIL rules went into effect in 2021, universities received support from collectives, which are a group of people who financially support the university’s student-athletes. Collectives can be made up of anyone, from alumni to people who just want to support the school, Jessop said.
Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner informed Pepperdine supporters about the Waves Excellence Collective, an independent organization that is Pepperdine-only focused, through an online announcement in Oct. 2024. The Waves Excellence Collective is set up for student-athletes doing community service in return for NIL, Gardner said.
The collectives come together and pool money to go out into the market and recruit players. It’s important to note universities were not allowed to pay athletes to play, but after a legal settlement earlier this year, colleges and universities can now pay athletes directly, according to ESPN.
“Oftentimes people hear NIL — the people being the athletes — and they think the money is just going to start flowing,” Jessop said. “But if you don’t play in one of those sports [Football, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball], and you’re not a talented enough athlete to be recruited by a collective, NIL is not just going to flow to you, you have to work.”
Jessop said she believes the opportunity for NIL is ripe, but students need to engage in the marketplace by becoming content creators.
The Waves Exchange
Pepperdine’s first step in supporting its student-athletes was the Waves Exchange.
Pepperdine Athletics expanded its partnership with INFLCR, a platform that helps student-athletes maximize brand-building and monetization opportunities following the recent NIL rule changes, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
The Waves Exchange functions as a marketplace where brands are able to connect with student-athletes to do one-on-one NIL deals. The Waves Exchange gives students the opportunity to partner with organizations such as local businesses, Gardner said.
Another feature of the Waves Exchange is the photo sharing Pepperdine Athletics provides its athletes. During games, Pepperdine’s staff takes photos of athletes that go into the INFLCR app, giving the student-athletes access to media that they can use to promote themselves on their own social media accounts, Gardner said.
The key for athletes is to build their own brand, Jessop said. It’s unlikely for a student-athlete to get an endorsement merely because of their athleticism; rather, athletes need to have some other distinct audience that a brand wants to tap into.
“[Athletes] need to build their audiences,” Jessop said, “So they need to be actively engaged with at least one social media platform for their age demographic. They need to do something to create content that is authentic to who they are as a person.”
Jessop said Pepperdine has been involved in educating its student-athletes since the NIL rule changes in 2021. Shortly after the rule change, Pepperdine offered NIL courses to its student-athletes taught by Jessop.
Jessop said she planned her course around the academic calendar, being mindful of finals. Jessop’s course was non-credit, completely free, open to all student-athletes at Pepperdine and was provided by Pepperdine Athletics with assistance from the West Coast Conference.
Jessop said she divided the course into two sessions, each over the span of six weeks.
The first session, held in fall 2021, taught student-athletes how to build a brand to generate an engaged audience online and make money. The second session, held in the following spring, taught athletes how to monetize their skills to build a business around their athletic talent.
The courses were eventually cancelled after a low turnout from students, less than 10%. Student-athletes often don’t have much time in their schedule, which can prevent them from participating in more extracurricular activities, Jessop said.
“The reality is that most student-athletes, or many student-athletes, might not want to invest the time that they need to monetize around because it’s just not important to them,” Gardner said. “We want to create opportunities for them to engage in a way that they want to engage.”
Cross Country/Track runner Rowan Nilsen said Pepperdine offers enough support for athletes regarding NIL, but that the difficulties come with actually getting the sponsorships.
“We have enough support,” Nilsen said. “It’s just more the companies that are willing to reach out and more like right place, right time.”
Junior Rowan Nilsen running at the Pacific Invite in Stockton, Calif. on Sept. 20, 2024. Nilsen transferred to Pepperdine after spending his freshman year at Loyola Marymount University. Photo courtesy of Rowan Nilsen
Jessop said she teaches a sports sponsorship class, which is part of the Sport Administration curriculum and is also available to non-Sport Administrative students. Students in the class learn how to build and sell sponsorships from the ground up, which is essentially what NIL is.
However, with the lack of Jessop’s free, non-credit course, there is an absence of education of NIL in comparison to fall 2021 until spring 2023 at Pepperdine.
Women’s Soccer junior defender Peyton Leonard said she received a sponsorship and felt a lack of knowledge on getting the deal done.
“I didn’t know who to contact or what to say in the email, really,” Leonard said. “I feel [Pepperdine] could just do a better job at telling us how to market ourselves, how to brand ourselves and how to position and write an email that kind of makes you appealing for companies and brands to want to work with you.”
Junior defender Peyton Leonard dribbles the ball against Cornell University at Tari Frahm Rokus Field on Sept. 22, 2024. Leonard ended the 2024 season with four goals and five assists. Photo courtesy of Peyton Leonard
Pepperdine has a deal with Influxer, an opt-in platform for student-athletes that helps maximize NIL opportunities through merchandise sales, Gardner said. Other West Coast Conference counterparts, such as Loyola Marymount University, currently have a partnership with Influxer, as well.
UC Riverside
Junior Joy Weber, a Cross Country/Track runner at the University of California, Riverside, has experience working with Influxer. UCR’s Influxer website is open to anyone on the internet. Furthermore, a percentage of the proceeds go back to the athlete, Weber said.
Sophomore Joy Weber on UCR’s Cross Country and Track and Field Media day. Weber serves as co-president of UCR’s Student Athletic Advisory. Photo courtesy of Joy Weber
Weber said she heard about Influxer from other athletes as a “nice extra bonus” in helping student-athletes promote themselves.
UCR athletes involved with Influxer have an Instagram account called UCR Influxer, where pictures of student-athletes are posted, assisting in NIL opportunities. Weber said athletes could still benefit with more advertising rather than just posts.
Weber said she is also part of another organization that helps with athlete-run programs.
“I’m a part of this organization called SAAC, which is the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. It’s kind of like ASB for student-athletes,” Weber said. “We’re able to take what is coming up for the athletes or what’s going on at school and kind of blast it all around.”
Weber said she started off as the cross country and track representative for SAAC, which has four representatives for all sports; two females and two males.
Weber has participated in multiple roles during her time with SAAC. She currently holds the responsibility of media and advertising as the club’s co-president, allowing her the opportunity to promote student-athlete media.
However, Weber said the SAAC varies at every university and notes some specific limitations at UCR.
“We don’t necessarily have a lot of representation when it comes to the higher ups [the people in charge of athletes],” Weber said. “So that’s something that I’d like to work on.”
Weber said with the increase of interest in the student-athlete lifestyle, social media has become an important aspect of brand development for collegiate athletes.
“All these different aspects to our lives, it’s so unique, and it’s something that I’m so grateful to have,” Weber said. “I just want to share it with other people, because it’s something that I’m not going to get back after my four years.”
UCLA
While the NIL landscape at universities offer differing resources to support their student-athletes, UCLA has integrated a unique athlete driven “NIL-Club,” according to the university.
The ‘NIL-Club’ at UCLA is operated by and for the athletes themselves, providing a direct pathway for them to engage with their NIL rights and gain income from fan subscribers through the club’s online platform.
Freshman Scott Taylor, a defensive end for UCLA Men’s Football, said he has already begun utilizing this resource, becoming an active member.
“The club is basically just where all athletes at UCLA are able to sign up and get their own merch for whatever team they play for at UCLA,” Taylor said.
Scott Taylor during UCLA’s football practice. Taylor was named to the Los Angeles Times All-Star team in 2023-24. Photo courtesy of Scott Taylor
For athletes like Taylor, the NIL-club can serve as a resource to create and market personalized merchandise, directly connecting them with the fanbase.
“I joined because some older guys on the team are a part of it and said it was something cool that I should sign up for,” Taylor said.
Taylor said his involvement started from peer conversations rather than any sort of educational workshop, highlighting the diverse ways athletes are becoming educated about NIL.
“’I’m not that involved with the club, but I can check up on who’s buying my merch, where my merch is being sold and all that kind of stuff,” Taylor said.
Despite Taylor’s informal start, all athletes have direct access to their NIL sales insights that can help athletes better target their fan demand and personalize their brand.
Beyond engagement insights, the NIL Club also facilitates a direct financial return for the athletes, Taylor said.
“It’s a direct payout from the site, I think it’s around $10 to $12 or $5 to $12 for each item you sell,” Taylor said.
For athletes who are interested in joining the NIL club, there is a process to begin leveraging one’s personal brand.
“You can find it online and then apply to get approved so they’ll background check that you’re actually an athlete,” Taylor said. “Then from there they’ll approve your merch and then your personal site will go live.”
Taylor said one of the highlights of the club is the accessibility of the online application process but also voices some limitations.
“I think it could be promoted a little better on campus, and I think more people could know about it. I don’t think it’s advertised that well,” Taylor said.
Coming from an active student-athlete who is utilizing the NIL-club, this feedback underscores the continued need for efforts in promotion among UCLA’s campus.
“Overall, it’s a cool way for us athletes to get our own merch,” Taylor said.
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Email Nick Charkhedian: nareg.charkhedian@pepperdine.edu
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Email Addison Melone: addison.melone@pepperdine,edu
