Coming out of what has been a very different year for recruiting NCAA student-athletes, the University of Nebraska is angling to be at the front of the pack in bringing in new talent.
Their pitch? Helping college athletes take advantage of the new age of paid compensation.
Located in one of at least six states that will allow athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness starting on July 1 following a law change, the University of Nebraska is pledging to assist its athletes with signing endorsement deals and starting their own businesses, according to The Wall Street Journal.
To do that, Nebraska has launched a three-pronged plan aiming to educate the school’s 650 or so athletes about how they can maximize profiting off the rights to their name, image and likeness. Fittingly, the university has dubbed the initiative “#NILbraska.” In addition to educating its athletes, the school will be deploying older students who are knowledgeable about financial literacy, marketing and other relevant topics as “NIL advisers.”
“When the guns fire to start the race, we’ll be on the blocks,” Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos, who is retiring next week in somewhat of a surprise, told The Journal. “Some form of this was going to occur and we are going to be prepared. We’ll be doing what we’re permitted to do through whichever avenue. And we’ll do it better than anybody. We’re the only show in the state.”
If that proves to be the case, it may end up letting Cornhuskers cash in big as Nebraska has a fervent fanbase that bought every single ticket to every football and men’s basketball game during the 2019-20 academic year despite the teams combining for just 12 wins.
“If our student-athletes really use their entrepreneurial skills and start their own business here, this fan base is going to support them for the rest of their life,” said senior deputy athletic director Garrett Klassy.
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