Fresno State jumps ahead in student-athlete Name, Image and Likeness game

College athletes could as soon as 2021 control and profit from their Name, Image and Likeness, and Fresno State on Thursday took a step to ensure its student-athletes can be well positioned as that marketplace emerges.

The athletics department announced a partnership with Opendorse, which through its Ready program will provide its 500-plus student-athletes with the education and hands-on guidance to maximize the value of their Name, Image and Likeness rights as the NCAA continues to move toward adopting NIL legislation.

“We’re excited about trying to present opportunities for our student-athletes, and investing in them beyond the field of play,” athletics director Terry Tumey said. “With all of the upcoming determinations as to Name, Image and Likeness and the application of it, we thought having some partnerships could enhance their experience with what they’re being provided for their brand and how they’re positioned on social media platforms.

“This is an educational opportunity, and helping student-athletes understand their brand and their position, and enhancing their ability to present themselves in a way that they see fit.”

What will that mean to Fresno State student-athletes?

The valuation game

Every one of them can benefit from individual assessments of social media accounts and guidance in building and marketing a personal brand. Some could earn significant sums monetizing their Name, Image and Likeness, none perhaps more than Haley and Hanna Cavinder, the twin guards on the women’s basketball team.

The Cavinder twins already have a substantial following on social media, with personal Instagram accounts that have more than 100,000 followers, a YouTube account with more than 25,000 subscribers and a TikTok account that has more than 662,000 followers.

A single branded Instagram post to their 100,000 followers has a value of around $3,700, according to an Opendorse valuation provided to The Bee.

A branded TikTok post to more than 662,000 followers has a value of about $7,900, with an annual earning potential in the low six figures.

But every Fresno State student-athlete will receive individualized instruction on building and marketing a brand sponsors and advertisers will value, and how to monetize it before the NCAA adopts legislation allowing student-athletes to profit from the Name, Image and Likeness, from the Cavinder twins down to a non-scholarship walk-on in any of the Bulldogs’ 21 sports programs.

The NCAA is expected to have NIL rules in place for the 2021-’22 academic year.

Benefits from NIL changes

“There’s certainly a scale of opportunity in terms of NIL earning for every student-athlete on every campus,” said Blake Lawrence, Opendorse CEO. “But while the majority of the national media attention has been on the All-American, Heisman candidate, future first-round draft pick and the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands that they could make, not enough attention has been given to that backup senior offensive lineman who could make a couple hundred bucks a month promoting their favorite shoe brand or favorite clothing brand through an Instgram story, posting on twitter or starting a YouTube channel and monetizing the videos they post.”

“Every athlete will have the ability to monetize NIL. A student-athlete at Fresno State making an extra $2,000 a year isn’t going to grab headlines, but it’s going to change that kids life. It’s not going to be mind-blowingly big for every student-athlete, but anything more than zero is important.”

Several Power Five conference athletics departments have signed on with Opendorse, including Indiana, Nebraska and Clemson. But Fresno State, Lawrence said, is its first client from a Group of Five conference, which could be a useful recruiting tool with student-athletes who will be enrolling in school at a time they could profit from the proposed NIL changes.

“For Fresno State, understanding that helping student-athletes position themselves to succeed the moment that the market turns on is really what this is about,” said Lawrence, a former football player at Nebraska.

“No matter how big those opportunities are, no matter how many opportunities come their way, it’s about being ready and that’s the center-point of this partnership. The schools must equip their student-athletes to succeed, and forward-thinking schools are investing in solutions to ensure that they’re prepared.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 2:03 PM.