HOW FEMALE ATHLETES ARE CHANGING THE NIL GAME

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Happy Women’s History Month! We can’t think of a better way to kick off the month than to shed some light on a subset of females that are killing it right now: female student-athletes.

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With Super Bowl LVII now in the rearview, the traditional game chatter and smack talk have died down, but the excitement about female sports is really heating up. Fueled by the NFL commercial in the Big Game that featured women’s flag football star Diana Flores, interest in female athletes and women’s sports in general is rampant and predicts an exciting future for all sports fans.

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Historically, the bias in media coverage towards male dominated sports has been a big contributing factor to the lack of recognition for female sports, as has lack of funding for collegiate female athletic programs - but the past year and a half of NIL deals is steadily evening the proverbial playing field.

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Ironically, the lack of publicity female athletes traditionally have received has led many to master the art of marketing themselves, and when you couple this with proven statistics regarding the presence women have on social media, it’s no surprise that female athletes are changing the NIL game.

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Statistics Favoring Female Athletes

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Female athletes are jumping on opportunities to market themselves and build their personal and team brands, and statistics show that their eagerness to tell their stories is paying off.

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Last year, six of the top ten NIL compensated college sports were women’s sports. Women’s basketball ranked number three, with female basketball guards earning $2,701 per deal on average. Women’s volleyball and softball followed in the fourth and fifth ranking, topping baseball, the third most compensated men’s sport.

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Without football, which makes up 49.6% of NIL action, women’s sports hold 52.8% of the remaining deals. Further, in the first year of NIL, male sponsorships grew 2%, compared to an overwhelming 20% increase for female athletes.

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Brands like Nike and Adidas are making more and more deals with female athletes, leading the movement for equal representation for brand promotions across male and female sports. With more brands adopting this philosophy, statistics are bound to spike in favor of female athletes at a strong pace.

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Helping Aid in Preparation for Future

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Not only are amateur female athletes starting to get publicity from NIL, but the unfortunate reality of a lack of professional opportunities available to female athletes compared to their male equivalents is finally starting to shift, seeing an increase in professional athletic opportunities for women. Since the implementation of NIL, women at last have the chance to stand out and build their image while in college, which concurrently is helping them prepare for their future in professional athletics and beyond.

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Giving athletes access to NIL deals isn’t just giving them a source of income, but teaches them business and professional skills and affords them opportunities to build connections, strengthen ties to their communities, and invest in their futures. NIL deals inspire and enable collegiate female athletes to use their platforms to grow, promote, and connect with their communities. This promises to move these athletes beyond the realm of social influence to meaningful societal impact, through businesses of their own, charities, and community engagement. Evidenced by the Michigan State gymnastics team partnering with Charitable Gifts America to Kiki Maloy, a Tennessee softball player who uses her platform to encourage young Black women to play sports and strive to be future leaders of businesses, NIL is helping female athletes to be the change makers of their generation.

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Only the Beginning

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NIL is just getting started, and with the clear benefits we are seeing for female athletes, the future is bright. Female athletes are hungry, driven, and motivated to jump on this opportunity. They are changing the NIL game, and it’s only the beginning.

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While it was thought that the introduction of NIL deals would only widen the gap between male and female collegiate athletes, it has done the complete opposite, giving female athletes the chance to build their images and advance their futures, and MOGL is thrilled to be a part of it.

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