Florida announces joint venture to help Gators athletes navigate NIL opportunities
The world of NIL has become the wild, wild west of college athletics. There’s lots of money and opportunities flying in different directions, but no clear rules, direction, format or guidance. That’s why Florida has partnered with Influencer, an industry leading software that currently serves 3,500 teams and more than 70,000 active athletes grow their brand and manage their NIL.
With the partnership, Florida announced the launch of Gator Made Exchange, “a one stop shop for athletes, businesses, and donors to connect and navigate NIL opportunities.”
One of the cool features of the platform features a payment processing tool to securely pay the athletes, which will be consolidated to a 1099 form in the athlete’s INFLCR app for streamlined tax reporting, according to On3’s Nick de la Torre. You can find an in-depth explanation of the database here from David Waters.
It’s a wise move by the Florida Gators athletic department to help assist their athletes. Otherwise, things can get complicated and complicated really quick. It will likely get complicated no matter what, but at least Florida is pro-actively trying to remedy the situation.
Statements from Florida Athletic Director and INFLCR President on the partnership
Florida Athletics Director Scott Stricklin made a statement about NIL partnership.
“The opportunity to have a one stop shop for Name, Image, Likeness activity and opportunities for Gator athletes is really important,” Florida Athletics Director Scott Stricklin said. “The really unique thing about having a central source is they can go to one place, they can engage in the activity, and they can look for opportunities. It makes it more turnkey for our athletes as they navigate all the other responsibilities they have and still have an opportunity to take advantage of Name, Image, Likeness.”
The President of INFLCR, Jim Cavale, made a statement about the official partnership.
“Since the beginning, the state of Florida has continued to lead the way for NIL and we could not be more thrilled to announce our partnership with the University of Florida,” said INFLCR President Jim Cavale. “INFLCR and Florida share the goal of bringing a first-class experience, both on and off the field, to the athletes they serve and we’re excited to provide the leading software to support Gators Made. Together, INFLCR Plus and the University of Florida join forces to connect student-athletes to NIL opportunities through an intuitive interface and supports all NIL initiatives with its compliant technology.”
It’ll be really interesting to see the many different twists and turns NIL takes at different schools across the country in the coming months and years, that’s for certain.