New Opportunity for Young Olympic Athletes

After two weeks of great competition and memorable moments, the Tokyo Olympics are officially over. For many sports, the Olympics is the one time every four years where the spotlight is the brightest. This brings about an urgent opportunity for athletes in those sports to tell their stories and endorse their personal brands in hopes they can financially capitalize off of their success.

Traditionally, this opportunity was not available to younger athletes still competing in college. However, 2021 will be the first time college athletes will be able to capitalize on their Olympic success given the NCAA’s new Name, Image, and Likeness guidelines.

In the past, NCAA rules only allowed college athletes competing in the Olympics to earn the prize money paid out by the USOPC for medal bonuses without risking their eligibility. However, paid sponsorships entered into due to Olympic success were prohibited. For 2021, those medal bonuses are as follows:

·      Gold - $37,500 bonus for every medal won

·      Silver - $22,500

·      Bronze - $15,000

According to reports, there were 26 American athletes with remaining NCAA eligibility that won medals in Tokyo. Not only are these athletes eligible to cash in on a collective $937,000 in bonuses from the USOPC, but they are now eligible to capitalize on that success and earn money through endorsement deals.

Additionally, a recent report showed that 53% of college NIL endorsement deals were happening outside the sports of football and basketball.

With all this new opportunity, it’s a great time to be an elite-level college athlete.