Opendorse launching school-specific NIL marketplaces

Opendorse is building school-specific NIL marketplaces for every one of its premium university customers free of additional cost. This news comes on the heels of the launch of the official NIL marketplace of Oregon, the first licensed school NIL marketplace in the industry.

School-specific marketplaces are important because they aim to streamline point of access for student-athletes to discover and manage NIL activities. They seek to mobilize fan bases and local organizations to offer opportunities to student-athletes. Everyone from fans and brands to sponsors and donors will have one place to find athletes to offer them NIL deals and, ultimately, complete payments through the Opendorse platform.

“School-specific marketplaces will elevate the NIL landscape,” said Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence. “Starting today, it’s no longer a question of if every Division I school has its own marketplace, but when.”

This announcement covers about 20 schools. Opendorse declined to name the schools out of respect for individual school announcements and launches; it said all Power 5 conferences are represented, as well as several Group of 5 schools. 

Using Opendorse, every student-athlete can review and accept NIL deals, receive payment, disclose activities for compliance and auto-generate tax documentation. The platform also enables athletes to manage all communication within the Opendorse app, instead of using unsecure messaging in email, texts and social media direct messages. More than 75,000 athletes use Opendorse to help monetize their brands.