Dexcom U announces first NIL program for college athletes with Diabetes

Nakos updated headshotby:Pete Nakos•10/25/22•

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Name, Image and Likeness has proven to be a vehicle for bringing awareness in change.

Now the global leader in glucose monitoring for people living with diabetes is using NIL to bring awareness to the disease. A new campaign, dubbed Dexcom U, will put the stories of 14 Division I athletes living with Type 1 diabetes on a national stage.

Diabetes can play a major role in halting the future of athletic talent, according to a recent Dexcom survey. Nearly half of adults living with Type 1 admitted they felt like quitting athletics because of their diagnosis. Another 20% followed through with quitting sports.

Dexcom produces a Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) machine. The user inserts a small sensor just beneath the skin, which then gives a reading of the body’s glucose levels and then transmits the data to a mobile device.

Athletes who have signed on to the partnership will be featured on the company’s social media platforms, sharing their stories and bringing awareness. There is not a monetary component of the deal, but Dexcom will provide access to resources needed to battle diabetes, including the CGM product.

ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter is helping lead the initiative. A longtime diabetes advocate, his wife, Sharri, was diagnosed back in 2002. He voiced the commercial put out by Dexcom to push out the program.

“Dexcom has always celebrated people with diabetes who push the limits and make a positive impact on their communities, which is why we saw the Supreme Court’s NIL decision as an opportunity to elevate these outstanding young athletes,” Dexcom’s VP of global customer experience Anne Santoro said in a statement.

How Dexcom U will be implemented

Dexcom’s NIL roster will have access to professionals in the diabetes space, along with professional athletes who live with the same challenges.

A big emphasis the maker of CGM is putting on the announcement is the need to inspire other athletes. The company hosted a Facebook Live to kickoff the campaign. And Dexcom plans to continue to return to the NIL space each year.

Free education resources designed for parents, teachers, coaches and fellow athletes to expose the misconceptions surrounding diabetes are also available.

“My Dexcom CGM is a total game-changer, allowing me to compete at the highest level knowing my diabetes is under control, and giving me, my coaches and teammates peace of mind,” Jackson State cheerleader Zyian Welcher said. “I know first-hand that having role models who know exactly what it’s like to live with diabetes can be a tremendous asset, so it’s a great privilege to be part of Dexcom U and hopefully be that role model for someone else.”

The news of Dexcom’s move to bring attention to diabetes is not the first time NIL has been used as a platform. Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women’s basketball team inked deals to combat Type 2 diabetes earlier this month with Rewind. The clinical program combines proven science with coaching and team support to help patients lose weight, keep it off and defeat Type 2 diabetes

Staley helped broker the deal for her athletes. They will be compensated in the company’s equity instead of cash or a product swap. Early access to the Rewind program launched in correspondence with the announcement.

More than 37 million Americans currently deal with Type 2 diabetes on a day-to-day basis. And another 1.5 million are diagnosed with the disease annually. More important to note, and the mission behind Rewind, Type 2 is reversible.