How Altius assisted Powerade in entering NIL space
For all the progress NIL has made in its first 21 months, there’s always more room for education.
Ahead of last month’s NCAA tournaments, Altius Sports Partners helped educate Powerade on what the name, image and likeness landscape looks like. While some brands have been extremely active in the space, others have been hesitant to spend marketing dollars on a somewhat undeveloped space.
A Coca-Cola Company, Powerade signed NIL deals with 37 men’s and women’s college basketball players. The sports drink has been an NCAA sponsor since 2010. Ja Morant was set to star in the brand’s March Madness commercial before he was pulled from the campaign
Altius caught the brand up on NCAA policy, school rules and state laws surrounding NIL. It also broke down what a brand should look for in college athletes when it comes to NIL.
“What we did with them is said, ‘Ok, here’s how you can objectively assess the ROI of all these different athletes,” Altius CEO Casey Schwab told On3. “They selected. Then we helped them get to the athletes and passed along the information.”
Already established at more than 30 schools and nearly half of the Power Five, the advising firm typically provides assistance on a case-by-case basis. If the athletic department is working on a major NIL initiative, ASP could be sitting in meetings and providing feedback. With its general manager program, Altius is constantly conversing with athletes on education and what to look for in an NIL deal.
The same goes for brands who are considering NIL partnerships. While Altius will not facilitate the deal, Schwab’s team can bring a company up to speed on how to effectively create an NIL campaign. With more and more athletes having a strong understanding of how to monetize their publicity rights, it’s now the brands that need a quick tutorial.
Powerade crafted deals with athletes from across Division I basketball landscaping, partnering with notable Power 5 players. The focus was not only on striking agreements with the most followed athletes, however, with a wide range of names providing access to different markets.
As part of each agreement, athletes were asked to promote Powerade on Instagram. Each caption included messaging aimed at competition, stating the energy drink has 50% more electrolytes compared to Gatorade.
Full list of Powerade athletes
Here is the full list of athletes who participated in Powerade’s NIL campaign:
| School | Athlete |
| Arizona State | Luther Muhammed (MBB) |
| Boise State | Chibuzo Agbo (MBB) |
| Boston College | Prince Aligbe (MBB) |
| BYU | Jaxson Robinson (MBB) |
| Colorado State | Cailyn Crocker (WBB) |
| Florida State | Ta’Niya Latson (WBB) |
| LSU | Flau’Jae Johnson (WBB) |
| Rice | Quincy Olivari (MBB) |
| Texas State | Nicole Leff (WBB) |
| UConn | Aubrey Griffin (WBB) |
| UMass | Sam Breen (WBB) |
| Arizona | Lauren Ware (WBB) |
| Georgia | Chloe Chapman (WBB) |
| Iowa | Kate Martin (WBB) |
| Minnesota | Dawson Garcia (MBB) |
| South Florida | Caitlin McGee (WBB) |
| USC | Destiny Littleton (WBB) |
| Toledo | Rayj Dennis (MBB) |
| Houston | Jarace Walker (MBB) |
| Maryland Eastern Shore | Kohen Thompson (MBB) |
| Southern University and A&M | Brion Whitley (MBB) |
| Alcorn State | Jeremiah Kendall (MBB) |
| Indiana | Sydney Parrish (WBB) |
| Tennessee | Tess Darby (WBB) |
| Notre Dame | Sonia Citron (WBB) |
| North Carolina | Kennedy Todd Williams (WBB) |
| Oklahoma | Ana Llanusa (WBB) |
| South Carolina | Brea Beal (WBB) |
| Villanova | Maddy Siegrist (WBB) |
| Stanford | Hannah Jump (WBB) |
| Alabama | Hannah Barber (WBB) |
| Texas | Tyrese Hunter (MBB) |