Campus Ink Is Paying College Athletes Like Social Media Influencers

Campus Ink has developed an NIL merchandise program that pays players more like social media influencers than athletes.

The NIL stores, which sell customized T-shirts, crewnecks, and sweatshirts, compensate athletes between $8-$15 on items that are $60 or less, Campus Ink Director of Athlete Development and Partnerships Adam Cook told Front Office Sports. 

The model allows Campus Ink to compete with some of the most high-profile companies in the space.

Traditional group licensing deals pool a percentage of sales and distribute them to athletes, Cook said. Campus Ink, on the other hand, offers any funds above business costs to athletes on a per-item basis, like it would with social media influencers or other celebrities.

• Fanatics and OneTeam Partners are paying less than $4 for a football jersey retailing at $140, Front Office Sports previously reported. 
• The Brandr Group offers athletes about $10-$12 per item sold, roughly 10% of the jersey invoice price.
• A Michigan group licensing deal brokered by Valiant offers more, however. It pays out about $20 per jersey, though items retail for a higher price than Campus Ink NIL products ($120-180).

The program has launched at three schools so far. The first, with Illinois men’s basketball, earned athletes more than $100,000, the company said. 

Following this success, Mark Cuban agreed to make an investment in Campus Ink to grow its offerings. It has more than a dozen more stores in the works, and has expanded to football, women’s basketball, and several Olympic sports.

Other companies “go about those rights through a group licensing agreement — which is great,” Cook said. “There’s 100% a place for that and it’s a wonderful avenue for athletes to get granted opportunities. But it’s not the only avenue.”