The Name, Image, and Likeness deal created by the NCAA has for the first time given student athletes the right to profit off their atheltic abilities without facing punishment by the NCAA. This space is however intentionally difficult for students to navigate so this post will attempt to create a guideline for one student if they are interested in pursuing a NIL deal. For this project, I have decided to focus on a 3-star Linebacker transferring into ODU from Duke named Sayyid Stevens. Sayyid is originally from Savannah, Georgia, and graduated from Duke with a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in Religion.
One thing I noticed when researching Sayyid was that he has an Opensea.io link in his Twitter bio. OpenSea is a crypto platform where people exchange NFT images or Non-fungible tokens for virtual currency. Sayyid could use his current OpenSea listings to make a push in branding himself as a crypto athlete. The now-defunct crypto platform FTX used to be the primary partner intercollegiate athletes would go to for NIL deals, but the space currently needs to be occupied.
Some attributes that could make Sayyid marketable as a “crypto athlete” could be if he helps promote or discuss cryptocurrency and other technology-focused topics on his social feeds. Twitter is an excellent tool for spreading the word on cryptocurrency, as it is where most of the culture surrounding it is rooted. Having a strong Twitter presence would go a long way toward securing a NIL deal in the future. Another valuable attribute to possess is to be a good salesman; Sayyid is an intelligent individual having a degree from Duke and is at Old Dominion for the graduate program, so people will likely take a sales pitch he does online from him seriously, as he will know how to sell what the NIL partner wants.
A brand I believe Sayyid could create a partnership with is Sorare. Sorare is a fantasy sports game that focuses on collecting “limited edition digital collectibles,” which are NFTs players use to create a team and compete to win prizes. Sorare partnerships are becoming more common, with countless YouTube sports channels and athletes partnering with the app to promote the platform. Sorare has taken off in the European market but is now entering the US with MLB and NBA expansions. Sorare is not considered gambling as players do not risk losing money on the platform so it will be safe from the NIL ban on gambling. The platform runs on Ethereum, a coin as stable as Bitcoin, and through NIL deals, they can help expand the company into the US market. Sayyid’s background would make Sorare a great company to partner with and provide an excellent business opportunity.