The Deals are Modest, but UML Student-Athletes are Marketing Their Name, Image and Likeness
Image by Will Benoit
Freshman business major Will Benoit, a member of the UML men's cross country and track and field teams, models Rastaclat bracelets as part of his name, image and likeness deal with the company.
03/22/2022
By Ed Brennen
For more than a century, they couldn鈥檛. But that all changed last summer when the NCAA bowed to legal and political pressure and waived its rules prohibiting student-athletes from profiting off their name, image and likeness (NIL).
Since then, student-athletes across the country have been getting into the NIL game, including close to two dozen River Hawks who have struck up endorsement deals with local and national businesses. They鈥檙e promoting everything from fitness apparel and nutritional supplements to a downtown coffee shop, primarily through social media.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a game-changer for the NCAA 鈥 and for us,鈥 says UML Assoc. Athletic Director for Marketing and Promotions聽, who has been busy this year getting River Hawks up to speed on the new rules.
The NCAA鈥檚聽聽leaves it up to states to pass their own legislation regulating how student-athletes can profit off their fame. In states without NIL legislation, such as Massachusetts, the rules are left up to individual schools, which has created a bit of a 鈥淲ild West situation,鈥 Boswell says.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a game-changer for the NCAA 鈥 and for us.鈥 -Assoc. Athletic Director Jon Boswell
聽is part of a systemwide UMass policy. It allows student-athletes to market themselves as a member of their team (although they can鈥檛 use UML logos) and receive compensation from a third party in exchange for 鈥渟ervices, activities, intellectual property or appearances.鈥 Student-athletes are responsible for tax obligations on any income, and international student-athletes are limited by the terms of their visa status.
鈥淣ow that it has arrived, this policy should provide our student-athletes a path forward to maximize their opportunities,鈥 says Director of Athletics聽Peter Casey.
Student-athletes must disclose any NIL compensation to the university, and the university cannot introduce the two sides or broker the deal. (Maine, by comparison, passed NIL legislation that allows schools to act as intermediaries.)
鈥淥ur policy is geared toward letting the student-athlete do this, but having the university maintain some level of connection to it and helping them understand the rules,鈥 says Boswell, who was part of an NIL committee that the university formed in spring 2020 in anticipation of the rules change. 鈥淭he hard part is that NIL is so confusing to everybody. Businesses have no idea that this is even an option for them.鈥澛
Running Side Hustle
One of the first River Hawks to land an NIL deal was聽, a first-year distance runner on the men鈥檚 cross country and track and field teams. He browsed online for companies seeking student-athlete ambassadors and found Rastaclat, a company that makes bracelets he likes.
鈥淚t was important to me to choose a brand that makes a product that I use and truly enjoy,鈥 says Benoit, a business administration major from Fairhaven, Massachusetts. 鈥淚鈥檓 not pushing something on someone else that I wouldn鈥檛 use myself.鈥
After his deal was approved by the Athletic Department, Benoit received a few free bracelets from the company in exchange for posting a photo of himself wearing the product on Instagram. The company also created a personal promo code for him to share that gave customers 20% off their purchase 鈥 with Benoit getting a small commission on each sale.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 make a ton of money; it was just kind of a fun thing I did. But I did make some money that definitely helped,鈥 says Benoit, who has continued promoting the company on his Instagram stories to his 1,100-plus followers.
Indeed, most student-athletes won鈥檛 see the million-dollar NIL deals that a select few are getting at big-time football and basketball programs 鈥 or that LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne got, thanks to her nearly 6 million followers on TikTok and Instagram. But Benoit still feels 鈥渓ucky鈥 to be starting his college career in the new NIL era.
鈥淣ow that I鈥檓 a student-athlete, I see how much work goes into it,鈥 he says. 鈥淗aving a job can be really difficult for a student-athlete, so I think the NIL rules have really helped.鈥
Artful Enterprise
Image by Ed Brennen
Senior exercise physiology major Halle Anderson, a senior defender on the UML women's soccer team, displayed several of her paintings at Brew'd Awakening Coffeehaus as part of her NIL deal.
Women鈥檚 soccer player聽聽jumped into the NIL game in her senior year, becoming an ambassador for one of her favorite hangout spots in Lowell: Brew鈥檇 Awakening Coffeehaus.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been a really cool place where so many different people from Lowell connect,鈥 says Anderson, an exercise physiology聽major from Stonington, Connecticut, who is starting grad school at Duke this fall.
Besides sharing a Brew鈥檇 Awakening promo code with her 1,700-plus followers on Instagram that gives her a small percentage of the sales, Anderson was able to use her connection with the business to promote another of her passions: art.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been into art, but I felt like, as an athlete, I could only identify as one thing,鈥 she says.
That changed during the pandemic, when Anderson was recovering from a knee injury that she suffered in the final game of her sophomore season.
鈥淚 had time to find value in other things and get more involved with art,鈥 says Anderson, who began sharing her sketches and paintings on social media. 鈥淚 received a lot of positive feedback from friends, which helped me gain confidence.鈥
In fall 2020, Brew鈥檇 Awakening owner Andy Jacobson asked Anderson if she would like to display some of her artwork in the shop.
鈥淚t was super fun. My friends and the Lowell community were so supportive,鈥 says Anderson, who wasn鈥檛 able to promote herself as a UML women鈥檚 soccer player at that time, since it was prior to the NIL rules change.
When she was invited to show her work again last fall, however, Anderson did so as a Division I women鈥檚 soccer player. And because Brew鈥檇 Awakening is a corporate sponsor of the athletic program, the women鈥檚 soccer team held a fundraiser at the coffee shop on Homecoming Weekend 鈥 with Anderson on hand selling her paintings.
鈥淚t felt really special to have these different parts of my life come together in a very positive way,鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檇 never thought about using my student-athlete brand for monetary reasons. But you realize you have a big platform within a small community. If I can use my brand to show that a student-athlete can also be an artist and a member of the community, I think that鈥檚 important.鈥
This summer, the NCAA will review its new NIL policy, which it is calling 鈥渋nterim,鈥 and it is hoping that Congress will pass federal legislation for a more uniform solution.
Until then, Boswell and the Athletic Department will keep educating UML student-athletes about the do鈥檚 and don鈥檛s of NIL.
鈥淭he biggest thing we want them to know is that they don鈥檛 have to say 鈥榶es鈥 to everything,鈥 Boswell says. 鈥淵ou have an opportunity to think about it. It鈥檚 not just quick money grabs. A lot of these deals you have to work to solicit and figure out how to market yourself.
鈥淏ut knowing it鈥檚 an option, and knowing the way student-athletes and their parents think, it has the ability to dramatically alter the landscape.鈥