March Madness lets athletes boost name, image, and likeness opportunities [Video]

March Madness is entering its second week with Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games coming up and student-athletes whose teams are in the field will be on their biggest stage of the season as they look to help their teams advance and potentially find themselves receiving lucrative marketing opportunities at the same time.

A rule changed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2021 allowed college athletes to earn income through licensing their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights to businesses that want to pay them money to do things like appear in advertisements or make social media posts. NIL has in many ways transformed the college sports landscape.

The NCAA Division I basketball tournament is one of the biggest stages in college sports and sponsors have looked to capitalize with NIL deals with some of the sport’s biggest stars. 

Michael Duffy, managing director, private wealth strategist and head of art planning at Merrill Wealth Management, …