The college sports NIL market is growing rapidly, but a lack of financial transparency is leaving many athletes without the information needed to negotiate fair compensation, according to Blake Lawrence, co-founder of sports technology company Opendorse.
College athletes can now earn money from their schools, donors, collectives, brands and their own audiences. Yet there is no central record of the combined value of those agreements, making it difficult for players to know what their services are worth.
The system emerged after legal challenges to the NCAA’s restrictions on athlete compensation. The changes introduced in 2021 were intended to allow students to profit from their name, image and likeness, but the resulting marketplace has become more complicated than many expected.
Lawrence said 67% of school compensation tracked by Opendorse goes to athletes without agents. That leaves many players attempting to assess their value without professional representation or reliable comparisons with similar athletes.
“Information is necessary to create a fair market,” Lawrence said, arguing that the absence of accessible data has encouraged athletes to find their own ways of understanding the market.
College football kickers, for example, have reportedly used group chats and social media to compare contracts and negotiate from a stronger position. Starting kickers at Power Four schools are averaging about 225,000 dollars this season, an increase of 60.9% from a year earlier, while some deals are worth as much as 600,000 dollars.
However, an athlete’s overall financial package can include school payments, collective funding, sponsorships and other commercial arrangements. Unlike professional sport, college athletics has no central database containing every contract.
Social media reshapes the college sports NIL market
Lawrence said earning potential is shaped by both sporting ability and social media reach. The most valuable athletes are those who combine a high level of performance with a substantial audience.
He described such players as “anomaly” athletes, whose commercial value is greater because their sporting profile and marketability reinforce each other. Former LSU gymnast and influencer Livvy Dunne and former Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter were cited as examples.
Hunter was described as an extreme case because his audience could continue to have commercial value even if he stopped playing football. The point, Lawrence said, is that an athlete can build an identity and following that extends beyond their time on the field.
Agents are also becoming increasingly important in negotiations. An agent representing several athletes can gather information from different schools and deals, giving them a wider view of the market and potentially greater leverage for clients.
Lawrence said the difference could be substantial. An athlete might regard an offer of 50,000 dollars a year as life-changing, while another player in the same position, represented by an agent, could secure 500,000 dollars.
“Now that’s information asymmetry,” he said.
