The Winter Olympics are underway in Beijing as 225 Americans will compete across a myriad of events. With a worldwide audience looking on, the college athletes competing are now in a position to maximize and capitalize on their exposure.
With National Signing Day taking place this past week, the pros and cons of NIL were on full display when it comes to college football, but the Olympics open up new opportunities for athletes competing in other sports that may not be in the spotlight as often.
Sportico’s Eric Jackson joined Sam and Greg this morning and shared that the absence of professional athletes in one sport, in particular, will benefit NCAA student-athletes in a big way.
“One of those things I think of is hockey. Obviously, NHL players aren’t playing this year due to the pandemic and other reasons, so what an opportunity for some of these college athletes to jump into the spotlight. They rarely have this, so this is definitely a huge NIL opportunity for them,” he said.
According to the NCAA, over 100 hockey players (men’s and women’s) will be competing in the Winter Games. It’s not just hockey, however, as there are over 200 current and former NCAA athletes participating in Beijing. For those still in college, Jackson said these athletes have a chance to make themselves some money.
"It’s really the sports that typically aren’t on tv all the time having this audience, so you better believe that these athletes aren’t just trying to win gold, but they’re also trying to take advantage of the opportunities for some deals when they get back home," he said.
We heard similar conversations regarding Olympians and NIL following the Summer Games when Suni Lee, a gymnast at Auburn, won gold and put herself in a position to sign major deals throughout her collegiate career.