Texas State athletes eager to profit off image
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AUSTIN, Texas – Texas college athletes are in the early stages of the NIL-era college athletics. Starting July 1, athletes in Texas and 19 other states will be able to benefit from their name, image and likeness for the first time in modern NCAA history. Seven more states were added to the list last week.
“The new transition policy gives college athletes and their families some sense of clarity about name, image and likeness, but we are determined to do more,” Division III Presidents Council Chair Fayneese Miller said in a statement . “We must continue to work with Congress on a more permanent solution.”
The new policy gives a potential of 460,000 NCAA student athletes the opportunity to sign advertising and sponsorship deals with brands.
According to the NCAA’s website, the policy provides the following guidelines for college athletes, recruits, their families, and member schools:
- Individuals can participate in NIL activities that are compatible with the law of the state in which the school is located.
- Colleges and universities can be a point of contact for government legal issues.
- College athletes attending a school in a state with no NIL law can participate in this type of activity without breaking NCAA rules for name, image, and likeness.
- Individuals can hire a professional service provider for NIL activities.
- Student athletes should report NIL activities to their school in accordance with state laws or the requirements of schools and conferences.
Trevis Graham, a senior wide receiver on the Texas State Football team, turns to social media to partner with brands. He has nearly 75,000 followers on TikTok, a social media platform that allows users to post videos on the website.
“I think one of the things that is changing for me is the fact that I can actually monetize video,” said Graham. “It helps to be able to monetize video because as a college athlete it’s really time consuming and you kind of get discouraged doing something and it’s like just doing it and like doing it in your free time. It will help make money from it. It also opens doors to many things outside of money. “
His videos are about being a Division I college athlete and your beliefs.
“It kind of started doing some kind of comedy sketch and then I kind of got into that sort of thing,” Graham said.
He’s not the only athlete turning to social media to work with various brands.
Janell Fitzgerald, a senior on the Texas state volleyball team, has nearly 100,000 followers on TikTok. In the spring of 2021, she led the nation with 483 kills.
She’s been waiting to make money on the social media platform since it gained a fan base in the fall of 2020.
She spoke to Congress in June to explain why she thought athletes should benefit from their hard work.
“I love to play,” said Fitzgerald. “I love having the reach and platform that I do, but we’re working hard to make it happen. We should be able to use our platform like any other student and that is our job. “
All of a sudden, one push of a button could make thousands of dollars, something she think college athletes across the country have made for decades.
Lauryn Thompson, a senior on the Texas State Basketball team, turns to YouTube to work with brands.
“I think it’s great that we companies can open the doors to ourselves and build our future now instead of waiting and leaving college and being like we are now,” said Thompson. “I’ll just take whatever opportunity I have, be it YouTube, or when it comes to working with people or building my brand and getting it out there. I will just do it. I’m used to working hard and knowing what is important. “
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