Could Promotion-Relegation work in College Football?
Just one week after announcing their retirement from college basketball, name, image, and likeness stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder have already launched two ventures relating to previous NIL activities.
They’re demonstrating one of the biggest perks of the NIL era: how athletes can use NIL to pave post-college career paths.
On Wednesday, the Cavinders announced that they had signed a deal to have their existing podcast air through Betr Media, which celebrity boxer Jake Paul co-founded. The twins first launched the show, aptly called “Twin Talk,” in December 2022.
“Betr gives us the ability to accelerate the growth of The Cavinder Twins brand in a focused and truly authentic manner,” the twins said in a statement.
Five days earlier, they told The Today Show they would become professional wrestlers for the WWE. Since 2021, the twins have been part of the WWE’s NIL program called “Next in Line,” which compensated athletes for promoting the league and built a potential pipeline for full-time careers in professional wrestling.
The Cavinder twins, who built massive social media followings throughout their collegiate careers, were some of the savviest NIL earners in the NCAA.
They opened the NIL era on July 1 with a billboard in Times Square promoting Boost Mobile. From there, they proceeded to build relationships with some of the biggest brands in sports — with estimated annual earning potentials of more than $900,000 each, per On3. Even multiple NIL controversies, including an NCAA recruiting violation related to one of their partnerships, didn’t slow them down.
On the court, the Cavinders helped the Miami Hurricanes make an unexpected appearance in this year’s Elite 8 — taking down No. 1 Indiana. But without top professional playing potential, the Cavinders have leaned into NIL for their post-grad endeavors.
They’re not the only ones using NIL in this manner.
Stanford’s Haley Jones (who was drafted No. 6 overall to the Atlanta Dream) and Gonzaga’s Drew Timme have launched podcasts to explore potential interest in the broadcasting industry after their playing days end.
