Football players lead Gophers in name/image/likeness deals
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Football players continue to lead fellow Gophers when it comes to scoring promotional deals off the field, data obtained by Axios shows.
Driving the news: Student athletes at the University of Minnesota's flagship campus disclosed more than 90 agreements to capitalize on their "name, image and likeness" since November.
- More than a quarter of those deals involved players on the Golden Gophers football team.
The big picture: The disclosures, which do not include individual student names, illustrate how new NIL rules played out during the first school year the NCAA allowed student athletes to benefit financially from their college careers.
- In all, Gophers have secured at least 230 deals since the change took effect last July.
State of play: While local athletes don't appear to be inking the type of big-money deals secured by national stars like Hopkins alum Paige Bueckers, some side hustles are generating more than beer money.
- One volleyball player reported earning $1,000 a month to post to Snapchat 18 times. And a football player disclosed a five-figure autograph deal.
Between the (contractual) lines: Social media influencer agreements remain the No. 1 opportunity.
- Just under half of the NIL disclosures from the last eight months involve students being paid or getting free merchandise in exchange for posting to Instagram or other social media accounts.
Yes, and: With the summer approaching, more athletes signed on to be part of summer camps.
- At least 14 Gophers, including women's hockey, volleyball and softball players, are working in that capacity.