From SI.com…
Over 50,000 students will have the opportunity to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL) under a new Adidas initiative.
The brand announced on Wednesday that it is forming an NIL network that will be accessible to its 109 NCAA Division I partner schools. Through the program, eligible students across 23 D-I sports will have the opportunity to become a paid affiliate brand ambassador with Adidas, a first for a major sports brand.
The initiative is the latest chapter of Adidas’s “Impossible Is Nothing” campaign, which promotes the brand’s goal of creating a more equitable and inclusive future in sports. To start, athletes will have the chance to profit through commission links, but Adidas plans to also offer elevated opportunities at a brand partnership and entrepreneurial level.
“We hope to uplift student-athletes by providing educational opportunities to learn more about the NIL and business landscape, which may include bringing them into brand moments and campaigns, partnerships with existing brand athlete partners and ambassadors,” Adidas NCAA program lead Jim Murphy said in a statement to Sports Illustrated. “But really we want to open the doors to a more equitable future outside of just unlocking monetary rewards. We want to help them grow as student-athletes and set them up for a future beyond college sports.”
The inspiration to allow a wide range of athletes from its member schools to profit off their name, image and likeness branched from Adidas’s goal of impacting as many people as possible while bringing a thoughtful approach to NIL.
