NCAA Athletes Waste No Time Profiting on Name, Image and Likeness The NCAA's new rules takes effect July 1.
By Euni Han •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The Cavinder twins, leading scorers for Fresno State's women's basketball team, waited a few minutes past midnight to capitalize on their fame, according to ESPN. On Wednesday, Hanna and Haley flew to New York to sign their first big endorsement deal, as spokeswomen for Boost Mobile. Haley says the move is overdue.
"It was really exciting that such a known company wanted to work with Hanna and me. This is a big switch for all student-athletes. Being able to use your name, image and likeness is something we all deserve, and I'm really thankful the NCAA is finally passing this."
All NCAA athletes can now profit from business ventures after years of wrangling from legal, political and public platforms to give athletes a bigger share of the multi-billion dollar college sports industry.
Related: The Most Conservative Sport Has the Most Weed-Smoking Fans
Boost CEO Stephen Stokols believes the potential is tremendous.
"A lot of these guys are local heroes. We think it's a big opportunity to get regional and local with relevant names in those markets. We want to be one of the biggest companies embracing [the college-athlete marketplace] early."
While the Cavinder twins will be part of a national advertising campaign, Sokols says agreements could vary from annual contracts to in-kind deals that give athletes free phones and plans in return for promotional work on social media platforms.
The Cavinder twins are among the first college athletes to announce such endorsements, but experts say the new landscape means innumerable deals, too many to count, could follow from athletes and companies alike.
