Your NIL Strategy Is Missing a Strategy

7 Components of a Cohesive NIL Strategy

Photo by Startaê Team on Unsplash

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Special Announcement

The NIL/mba Live launches on Monday, but is available to my NIL/edu readers today. This six-week program features an incredible lineup of faculty with unmatched expertise to help you master NIL, including Mit Winter (Kennyhertz Perry), Maddie Walsh (UCLA), Sam Green (NIL Athletes’ go-to Content Creator), Paul Grindstaff (Anchor Impact, Vanderbilt Athletics Collective), and Chase Garrett (Icon Source.)

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NIL: Tactics vs. Strategy

Most athletic departments, across all Divisions, have taken steps to address NIL. They’ve partnered with marketplaces and tech platforms, provided occasional education, and even launched NIL Collectives.

These are important steps, but they’re tactics - not strategy. Tactics alone won’t significantly impact recruiting or retention of student-athletes.

A strategy, on the other hand, is unique to each institution. It’s a unified plan that aligns all components - education, marketplaces, Collectives, and compliance - with the department’s goals and culture.

Unlike tactics, a strong strategy ensures everything works together to drive meaningful results. Without it, athletic departments risk inefficiency, missed opportunities, and falling behind as the NIL landscape evolves.

To kick off 2025, here are my 7 recommendations on building a successful NIL strategy, drawn from my recent experience working with schools, particularly DI mid-majors, as they’ve taken steps forward.

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1. Your Vision and Your Goals

Every successful strategy starts with a clear vision. What does NIL success look like for your athletic department?

Common goals might include:

• Enhancing recruiting and retention efforts.

• Increasing athlete support and satisfaction.

• Driving community engagement with local businesses.

Defining your NIL goals provides a framework for aligning tactics and measuring your progress.

2. Education

Sporadic workshops aren’t enough. NIL education should be structured, ongoing, and tailored to athletes at different stages of their journey.

If you have been reading this newsletter for a while, you know how I feel: “life skills” are great, but student-athletes are most engaged when we teach them how to land NIL partnerships. To do that, they need to be taught:

• How to build a personal brand for NIL.

• How to build NIL-centric social media.

• How to market & sell their NIL to small/local businesses.

Everything else is just gravy. Important gravy for sure, but just gravy.

3. Athletic Department Culture

I’ve worked in the sports industry for 25+ years and one thing I’ve learned is that every organization thinks that they’re unique - that their challenges, opportunities, and culture is their own.

While not always true in the corporate world, I have come to believe that each athletic department truly does have its own values, and priorities. Your NIL strategy must reflect this unique culture.

Involve stakeholders, including coaches, administrators, and athletes, in the planning process to ensure buy-in. This alignment ensures that your NIL strategy feels authentic and supports the department’s mission.

4. Community Engagement

Outside of the Power Four (who rely on their Collectives to do the heavy lifting), NIL success hinges on local business involvement. Many local businesses don’t know where to start or how to connect with student-athletes. (Let me be even more direct: most small businesses don’t really know what NIL is.)

Here’s what you can do:

• Host NIL mixers or networking events for local businesses and your student-athletes.

• Provide local businesses with easy-to-understand resources guides and email campaigns.

• Support your student-athletes: They are usually put in the role of educating local businesses on how NIL partnerships work.

In it’s most common form, NIL is a two-sided marketplace of your student-athletes and local businesses. Engaging those businesses strengthens your NIL program.

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