Illinois Launches Official NIL Marketplace for Fighting Illini Student-Athletes
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois has partnered with Opendorse to provide a dedicated name, image and likeness (NIL) marketplace. The Illinois Marketplace is designed primarily to help increase access to NIL opportunities for businesses interested in working with Fighting Illini student-athletes.
The Illinois Marketplace offers supporters, brands and sponsors a single, streamlined platform to easily find, pitch, book and compensate Illinoi student-athletes for their NIL services. Student-athletes can seamlessly review opportunities, accept deals and earn cash. Deals completed through the Illinois Marketplace will be automatically processed through the Opendorse platform to ensure compliance with state law and NCAA policy.
“We are excited for the introduction of the Illinois Marketplace,” said Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman. “It is critical that businesses wanting to partner with our young men and women have an easy, accessible and compliant method of doing so. This new initiative is the best solution for those looking to enhance their company platforms using Illinois student-athletes.”
All current Illinois student-athletes can be found in the Illinois Marketplace, where each has created an individual profile to showcase their unique preferences, interests and online channels. Specific social media metrics, including platforms and applicable follower counts, are indicated within the Illinois Marketplace.
In addition to the new marketplace, Illinois student-athletes and administrators will continue to benefit from Opendorse’s entire suite of NIL products — Opendorse Ready™, Social™, and Monitor™. Together, the products empower Illinois student-athletes to build, protect and maximize their personal brands with the industry’s leading education, marketing, and compliance technology.
“Illinois’ commitment to empowering student-athletes on and off the field is one other schools should emulate,” said Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence. “Today’s launch of their NIL Marketplace is the next step in maximizing NIL opportunities. We’re proud to align with another program that puts athletes at its center, with a clear commitment to support and educate them on their NIL journey.”
For more information, reach out to www.opendorse.com/illinois-fightingillini or nil [email protected].
About Opendorse
Opendorse, the NIL company, is the leading technology provider in the athlete endorsement industry. More than 75,000 athletes use Opendorse to understand, build, and monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL) with support from thousands of brands, fans, sponsors, donors and partners including Team USA, PGA TOUR, NFLPA, MLBPA, WNBPA, LPGA, over 100 professional and collegiate sports teams.