Finally, tech offers new opportunities for players to become influencers. Today’s top athletes — even NCAA student-athletes — can monetize their popularity and build engagement with fans utilizing their name, image and likeness (NIL).
They demonstrate how technological progress has allowed athletes, such as NCAA players, to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) to achieve financial gain. By using such mediums as social media, streaming sites, and online advertising, athletes are now able to cash in on fame and interact with fans on a personal level. This is a significant shift since technology opens up new revenue streams and allows the players to become influencers in their own right, without the need for gatekeepers and traditional marketing channels. Technology has essentially democratized brand building for athletes, with the athletes now being able to own and profit from their own personal brands.