Rella Podcast: A Deep Dive into Social Media

We are going to be answering this question: Are College Athletes the New Influencers?

In the beginning of this month, the NCAA passed a new rule that college athletes can begin getting paid off their name, image, and likeness. Athletes can begin to accept endorsements from brands, monetize their social media presences, and work with agencies to facilitate these deals for them.

So what does that sound like? Well, it sounds like a lot of college athletes are going to add a new title: influencer.

Many college athletes have already cultivated large followings on social media and prior to this ruling were unable to receive any compensation from it. Athletes like Olivia Dunne, a gymnast at LSU has 4 million TikTok followers and over 1 million followers on Instagram. Shareef O'Neal, an LSU basketball player has garnered 2.7 million followers on Instagram. Paige Breukers, a basketball player at UConn has 829K followers on Instagram. These athletes could be raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorships with following sizes that big.

And brands are already looking forward to this new ruling and the potential audiences they can tap into.

The very first brand deal completed by college athletes has already been completed. Only a few minutes after the clock struck midnight Hanna and Haley Cavinder, twin basketball players at Fresno State, made a deal with Boost Mobile. It is quite a historic moment for college sports.

Boost Mobile CEO Stephen Stokols told ESPN that the company has a list of 400 college athletes it hopes to partner with in the future. He said the Cavinders will be part of a national advertising campaign, but he's interested in the appeal that many college athletes have on a local level. He said deals could range from annual contracts worth large sums of money to in-kind deals where Boost provides athletes with free cellphones and service plans in exchange for promoting the company on social media.

However, this ruling doesn't just impact social media. While brand deals and endorsements are a huge part of it, some college athletes are using this ruling another way.

McKenzie Milton, the quarterback at Florida State, and D'Eriq King, the quarterback at University of Miami signed on as co-founders of Dreamfield Co, a company made to help athletes book speaking events, appearances, and other opportunities. They also are looking to become one of the first college athletes to sell nonfungible tokens to sell to their fans.

Things that influencers were doing every single day on social media could once revoke athletic scholarships and punish college athletes. Now, this is all changing.

Brands, agencies, and of course athletes are buzzing with excitement on the potential this could create. With almost half a million NCAA athletes now eligible to monetize their name, image, and likeness - this is a monumental point in history.

I think this is such an exciting time. The fact that it has taken this long for this to be applied and put into effect is mindblowing to me. The number of revenue athletes generates and the amount of influence they have on a college is incredible. However, they were never allowed to get paid for their own brand. They had no ownership of their own brand. I am so excited to see college athletes get paid for what they deserve.

I am curious about how athletes will handle this. When influencers on social media started becoming popular, so many networks and agencies were grabbing every single up-and-coming influencer and signing them into long and unfair contracts that were barely read through. I hope that college athletes today do not fall into that trap and are making sure that who they are working with and signing with has their best interest.

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