A year after launching, NBC Sports’ name, image and likeness platform is getting a tech upgrade.
NBC Sports Athlete Direct will now be powered by MOGL, an NIL marketplace that connects brands and athletes. The partnership will allow NBC Sports to broaden its NIL offerings to advertisers, who will be able to source more athletes, NBC says.
Damon Phillips, senior VP of strategic initiatives at NBC Sports Group, said the group was impressed by MOGL’s ability to keep up with compliance laws, directly communicate with athletes around campaign deliverables and pay participants on time and at scale.
“We are trying to build a two-sided marketplace,” Phillips said. “MOGL will let us scale up on the supply side. Now we can offer advertisers another tool, whether it’s a local, regional or national campaign.”
How NBC Sports is growing its NIL business
The partnership comes a year after the launch of NBC Sports Athlete Direct, the media company’s NIL platform that connects advertisers to college athletes. At first, the platform was limited to athletes at Notre Dame, Vanderbilt University and Temple University, but NBC Sports added more schools during the summer and fall.
“Last year was test-and-learn for us,” Phillips said. “We worked with those schools to understand the space more. We saw high engagement on social media, so that led us to ask how we can scale nationally.”
MOGL claims to be used by over 10,000 student-athletes and has partnered with universities across all three NCAA divisions, including Notre Dame, Holy Cross and Winona State. It was founded by two Notre Dame classmates, including former quarterback Brandon Wimbush.
Since being signed into law in June 2021, brands of all sizes—including Chipotle, Degree, Vuori and Cash App—have inked deals with student-athletes. This year's March Madness tournament saw LSU’s Angel Reese’s valuation jump to $1.3 million from $371,000 after her team’s win, according to On3, a platform that tracks NIL deals and valuations for players’ sponsored social media posts. Last year, NIL deals generated an estimated $1.14 billion in revenue for athletes, according to Opendorse, another NIL marketplace.
“As the NIL landscape continues to evolve, MOGL’s vision is for student-athletes to maximize their potential in all areas of life—including their name, image, and likeness,” said Ayden Syal, MOGL CEO and co-founder. “Our relationship with NBC Sports Athlete Direct increases our ability to continue to offer extraordinary opportunities for our student-athletes beyond simply sponsorships.”
