UTPB Athletic Director Scott Larson speaks at a press conference Monday, December 2, 2024, at the D. Kirk Edwards Human Performance Center Family Human Performance Center. (Michael Bauer|Odessa American) Larson said it depends on the student-athlete as to how much they will make. He added that the student-athletes don’t have to get an agent. Students […]
Larson said it depends on the student-athlete as to how much they will make.
He added that the student-athletes don’t have to get an agent.
Students register with Brandr, a company that manages their name, image and likeness for them. Larson said Brandr has contracted with Athletic Solutions, and they can sell merchandise with their their name on it.
University of Texas Permian Basin student-athletes can now make money from their name, image and likeness under NCAA rules.
With the platform already in place, students who have a strong following on social media can start branding and making some money, Director of Strategic Communications Alexa Dunson said.
“It’s nothing crazy. It’s product or things like that, for social media posts,” Larson said.
They don’t have to opt in, but Vice President for Athletics Scott Larson said they have had some students get deals.
Powered by Athletic Solutions, the UTPB NIL store gives student-athletes a chance to open and promote their own personalized online store. Fans will be able to browse and purchase these items and directly support their favorite Falcon athletes, the website said.
“This rule changed when name, image, likeness came into place. They can have an agent to negotiate non-athletic things for them. They can have an agent to negotiate with any business” to make a deal, Larson said. “… The downside of an agent is that you have to pay them, too.”
“There are programs out there that will analyze your social media following based on number of followers, how many times you post, all of that, and they will tell you how much your brand is worth effectively, so that a student-athlete, or anybody else for that matter, when they’re negotiating an NIL deal have a baseline of what their brand is worth. That’s how they measure it, basically, number of followers, number of posts, interactions. There’s algorithms that determine that stuff,” Larson said.
With every purchase, UTPB Falcon athletes receive direct payments from the sale of their merchandise, the website said.
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“Here’s a built-in opportunity for name, image and likeness for you to build your brand and potentially make some money,” Larson said.
NIL is something coaches can use to draw recruits in addition to great academics, Larson said.
“Any student-athlete in the country can make money off their name, image and likeness. We’re one of a number of schools that have contracted with Athletic Solutions for our student-athletes to do that in an organized fashion,” Larson said.
“There’s people out there that that’s all they do, social media. They’re influencers and all that. This is an opportunity for them to do similar things,” Larson said.
Larson said some of the athletes already have NIL deals.
It’s also a good recruiting tool.
UTPB announced a partnership with Athletic Solutions Oct. 7, 2024. The UTPB Falcons site will offer fans a new shopping experience. This one-stop-shop will offer sport-specific product for every sport at UTPB and NIL product for participating student-athletes, the website said.
The opportunity is all about building your brand and it’s also a chance for students to generate some income, Larson said.
