Name, Image, and Likeness

PARTNERING WITH STUDENT-ATHLETES FOR ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES HAS PLENTY OF BENEFITS FOR BUSINESSES

BY ED LEFURGE III

For the first time ever, college student-athletes can now benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). What does that even mean? In a nutshell, you as a business or product owner can tap into some of the most connected and dynamic individuals around for advertising and promotional purposes.

With their highlight plays, appearances on national/local television, or work in the community, student-athletes quickly build name recognition and a following on social media. Look at it this way, a Delaware football student-athlete played in front of an average of over 19 thousand fans per game this past season – not to mention the thousands and even millions more on television. This access allows college student-athletes to become some of the best spokespeople and potential brand ambassadors out there.

Connecting with a university community and fans nationwide through studentathletes has become an easy way for businesses to reach large audiences.

Through NIL, there are a number of ways you can utilize University of Delaware student-athletes to promote your business. This could be through appearances/ autograph signings, commercials, or social media posts, to name a few. The possibilities are ultimately endless.

Let’s say you are a restaurant owner. You could pay a student-athlete for social media advertising and an appearance/autograph session at your restaurant. Or maybe you own a barber shop. You could offer student-athletes a free haircut for referrals made. Opportunities and compensation can be creative for all parties involved.

An easy way to connect with student-athletes is through the Blue Hen Exchange. The Blue Hen Exchange is a student-athlete NIL business registry, custom-designed for businesses, donors, alumni, and any other interested NIL third-parties wishing to connect with student-athletes.

Registered businesses can search, filter, and initiate conversations with student-athletes to discuss an NIL deal. Once the NIL deal between a registered business and your student-athlete is completed, the business will use the Blue Hen Exchange to create a transaction that will produce a direct payment to the student-athlete.

The Blue Hen Exchange should be used if you are a business looking for in-kind NIL opportunities with studentathletes (ie. free product in exchange for promotion), or you know what activation or activity you want student-athlete(s) to complete in exchange for payment, with the capability to manage the execution of said work or activity. To learn more or connect with University of Delaware student-athletes, visit www.bluehens. com/exchange or email Kate Rudolph at rudolphk@udel.edu.

Ed LeFurge III is director of communications & creative services at University of Delaware Athletics.