The Man in the Arena - that's how college athletes ought to feel throughout their collegiate athletic career. All eyes on them. Add in Name, Image, & Likeness (NIL) responsibilities and now there's even more reason for outsiders to weigh in on the lives of these athletes without knowing what they endure on a daily basis.

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I wanted to reference this speech by Theodore Roosevelt in admiration of all of the athletes who attended year 2 of the NIL Summit. With all they are dealing with academically, athletically, personally, emotionally, and now professionally, they were selected by their universities to represent their peers on campus as a leader within the NIL space. This is a tremendous honor that they should all be very proud of.

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Although MOGL was an outsider this year, we view the NIL summit as a transformative opportunity not only for us and our athletes, but for the entire NIL space and all of the various stakeholders. It is an opportunity to learn, grow, and exchange value between parties. 

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My favorite takeaway that our teammate Sitori came back with was that athlete to athlete learnings were at an all-time high this year. What does this translate to for us? There is room for everyone to eat a piece of the NIL pie. 

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Sitori is working closely with myself and the rest of the Athlete Relations team at MOGL this summer and has already played an immense role in our Q2/Q3 growth.

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Enough from me - I want to give you the chance to hear from Sitori on her year 2 NIL summit experience…

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Peace and Love,

Brandon

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Dear fellow NIL lovers,

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Brandon was spot on. All eyes on us. As student athletes we have the competitive nature within us to win and be great. What comes with that? All eyes on us. Everyday consists of getting stronger, faster, smarter, learning more, and attracting all those eyes - because we know that most likely means a championship is ahead.

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This is the same mentality that I have when it comes to NIL, and I think a lot of other athletes do too. With this mindset, NIL has brought me so many great opportunities, especially the experiences I am getting with MOGL. I am so grateful that NIL has opened so many doors for athletes, including the invitation to attend the NIL Summit.

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At the Summit I met many student athletes with ambitious mindsets, and it inspired me greatly. So many of them work hard and devote time to sharing themselves with an audience to both entertain and monetize from the content that they are creating. Many of the student athletes are even using their own brand to help others and raise money for organizations. All this determination gains eyes. 

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But let me tell you, eyes on social media are different. No matter the size of your platform, how many NIL deals you have had, or if you are a student athlete that is still growing your brand on social media, you are going to encounter eyes that are rude and can be sometimes hateful. We are lucky though, that we all get to walk through this NIL era together. 

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It’s why the NIL Summit was so impactful this year. I listened to one of my fellow female basketball athletes, Anna Camden, speak at the NIL Summit and she said, “those who are doing more than you are not going to be criticizing you, it is those who are doing less.” We do not have to acknowledge the rude eyes, because they most likely have not done an ounce of what we have worked for.

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The NIL Summit was so powerful. I was able to get inspired and learn not only from brands, but fellow athletes that have been in this NIL era for a couple years now.

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Those who we can learn from the most are the ones who are wearing the same shoes as us or have stepped a foot in them, and most of us at the NIL Summit had been in the same kind of shoes.

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Deuces, 

Sitori Tanin

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