AJ Vaynerchuk: 'Pros in NIL so, so far outweigh the cons'

AJ Vaynerchuk has brokered contracts for NFL draft picks. He has seen how quickly cash dissolves if not handled effectively.

Name, image and likeness provides exposure to endorsement deals and dollars before some athletes reach professional sports. Other players will never make it to that next level, meaning monetizing their NIL in the moment is invaluable. It’s when they will be the most marketable to brands.

The co-founder of VaynerSports has been able to start representing athletes in NIL in the last 21 months, too. His agency has a lengthy list of professional clients in football and baseball and recently launched a basketball division. He also helped his brother, Gary, found the creative ad agency VaynerMedia.

He’s seen the headaches from misuse of money before. NIL now gives athletes the chance to refine their financial chops quickly and early.

“First and foremost, yes there’s pros and cons to everything, but I think the pros in NIL so, so far outweigh the cons,” Vaynerchuk said on the podcast Next Up with Adam Breneman. “We were talking about, ‘Oh, what are all these 18 and 19-year-olds going to do with all this money. They’re going to fuck it up.’ They’re going to fuck it up when they’re 22, they might as well fuck it up at 18. Frankly, I actually think it’s fantastic. You got a guy that’s a projected first-round pick that’s made a lot of money in college. They got to make some mistakes.

“The No. 1 pick in the draft is going to make $35 to $40 million guaranteed, right? I’d rather them fuck up a million or two before they get 35, rather than fuck up all 35 and not get it.”

The 2023 NFL draft opens up Thursday night. Last year’s draft class was given some exposure to NIL, but this year’s has now played in the new environment for at least two seasons. Some have been working with their agents previously on endorsement deals. They’ve had the opportunity to make mistakes.

Others decided to not enter their names into the NFL draft early, opting to stay put in college for another year. When the deadline to declare early for the 2023 NFL Draft came in mid-January, 82 players had submitted their names. That’s nearly 40% fewer than the 135 who did so in 2019. On top of another season of maturation, athletes can make still cash because of NIL.

“We had a guy, Sam Hartman, who we rep for NIL that was at Wake Forest,” Vaynerchuk said. “Without NIL, goes pro. But instead, decided to go to Notre Dame and gives him an opportunity to play in a more pro-style offense because the slow mesh at Wake Forest had some scouts confused what to think of Sam. Now he gets to Notre Dame, gets into a little more of a pro-style offense, and I know he’ll make money at Notre Dame.

“He’s the face of Notre Dame football – ACC passing touchdown leader. And then he can just go to the NFL next year. He’ll be more seasoned, more ready. Look at Brock Purdy this year. I think a lot of people talk about all the games he got to play. You know how many quarterbacks stayed this year that would have gone in other years?”

NIL market maturation

NIL is not always going to be a seven-figure win for athletes. For some, it means being able to easily afford things outside of a scholarship and the stipend given to them. The NIL market is continuing to grow, too. But it has also matured significantly.

NIL marketplaces could be coming to an inflection point, with mergers on the horizon. Institutions are becoming more comfortable talking about it and educating their athletes. Some have built out facilities, others are bringing on entire departments.

Collectives continue to seek routes for sustainable funding and membership.

“NIL has been a great thing,” Vaynerchuk. “There’s been some headaches that have come along with it. There’s the kid that had his deal with one school explode, had to get released. There’s some bad stuff. This first year and a half has been the ‘Wild, Wild West.’ More and more precedent is getting established, I’ve been impressed with universities hiring directors of NIL and the collectives are getting stronger and smarter.

“I’m just very bullish on what it means what the kids are going to get, what they deserve for the value they bring to these schools.”