Student Athlete Personal Branding and the impact of the name, image, and likeness (NIL) legislation
In April 2021, three months before the NCAA’s interim policy let college athletes earn from their name, image and likeness, I interviewed four Division I athletes and five people working inside college athletics departments. Every athlete understood the basic idea of the legislation. Almost none could say how it would change what they were already doing, and the ones building real audiences were the ones telling stories that went beyond their sport.