Beginning Thursday, the NCAA and name, image and likeness services provider Teamworks will launch NCAA NIL Assist, a platform designed to connect student-athletes with potential service providers, facilitate disclosures of NIL activities, and provide insight into evolving trends with the NIL environment. The platform is available at nilassist.ncaa.org.
"Before I even started in my new role at the NCAA, one of the first things I heard from student-athletes and their families was that the NIL landscape was confusing and challenging to navigate," NCAA President Charlie Baker said. "It was a priority for me from day one to find ways to help student-athletes pursue and capitalize on NIL opportunities with confidence, and a little over a year later, the launch of this platform will help them do exactly that."
The mobile-friendly, web-based platform — available to member schools, student-athletes and their families — includes:
- A voluntary registry where agents and other interested professional service providers can submit information about their offerings and seek potential student-athlete clients.
- A "rate your experience" tool so student-athletes can share reviews of those same service providers, so other student-athletes can feel informed before entering into agreements with them.
- A simple process by which NCAA schools can submit NIL disclosure data.
- Aggregated data with identifying information removed and trends about NIL agreements, including the ability to sort by subdivision, conference, sport and player position.
- Access to educational programming related to NIL, including resources about NCAA rules, tax implications and intellectual property.
"The NCAA NIL Assist is a game changer for student-athletes," said Meredith Page, vice chair of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and current volleyball student-athlete at Radford. "Offering market value insights, exceptional education and a registry with standard contracts designed to protect their interests, this platform provides invaluable support for student-athletes.
"We have asked for this assistance, and they delivered," Page said.
"Since our inception, Teamworks has been dedicated to creating technology that enhances the student-athlete experience," said Kevin Barefoot, senior vice president of business development at Teamworks. "Our collaboration with the NCAA on the NIL Assist platform highlights our commitment to promoting NIL transparency and empowering student-athletes to navigate and maximize their NIL opportunities."
The platform's offering will expand to include additional educational programming and data moving forward, as transparency and disclosure rules adopted by the Division I Council in January take effect Thursday. The council includes a voting representative from all Division I conferences as well as student-athlete representation.
In April, the council amended the disclosure rules to permit schools to assist student-athletes with seeking and arranging NIL agreements with third parties, provided student-athletes disclose NIL agreements equal to or greater than $600 in value to their schools.
