College athletes finally being allowed to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL) could be a boon to the promotional products industry.

But Steve Flaughers, owner of Proforma 3rd Degree Marketing (asi/300094) in Canton, OH, won’t be targeting these potential customers any time soon. A former collegiate athlete in his own right, Flaughers sees many issues with the NCAA’s ruling that could affect not only the athletes, but distributors who work with them.

In this episode of the Promo Insiders podcast, Senior Writer John Corrigan speaks with Flaughers about his concerns, including the licensing challenges.

Podcast Chapters (only available on desktop)
1:00: Flaughers’ collegiate background
2:33: Issues with the NCAA ruling
7:00: Disadvantages for distributors
14:22: Waiting to target college athletes
20:45: Opportunities for less mainstream sports
27:05: Predicting the impact on promo

Thanks to the NCAA ruling, college athletes can now license their name to promote brands, sponsor events and campaigns and launch their own merchandising companies. According to ESPN, All-American college athletes are estimated to have the opportunity to earn $500,000 to $1 million through social media, including sponsored posts and personalized video greetings.

“With the potential loss of revenue at the college bookstore, will the price of hard goods and decorated apparel go through the roof?” – Steve Flaughers, Proforma 3^rd Degree Marketing

With football and basketball as the top revenue-producing college sports, those athletes are sure to be highly sought after by major brands. However, today’s marketplace is so fragmented that there are opportunities for athletes involved in other college sports, such as tennis, soccer and lacrosse, to still make a fair amount of money from their NIL, especially from local businesses like restaurants, car dealerships and sporting goods stores.

Although Flaughers sees the potential in college athletes selling their own branded T-shirts and bobbleheads, he’s concerned about licensing issues that can arise.

“Students don’t seem interested in wanting to learn the licensing aspect of the products,” Flaughers says. “I assume if allowed, they will sell anything and everything that they can. This could pose a serious problem for the universities. Would they fine their own student athletes the same as they would us licensed suppliers? If the university feels they’re losing a great deal of revenue, will this mean licensing fees skyrocket to make up for that loss of money they have made off the student athletes?”

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