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OpenDorse's annual report provides interesting national data about NIL

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook07/01/25josephcook89
Texas QB Arch Manning's NIL deal with Red Bull
Photo courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

OpenDorse, which calls itself the leading athlete marketplace and NIL technology company, released its annual NIL report as the fiscal year came to a close yesterday, and some of the dollars associated with Name, Image, and Likeness truly are eye-opening.

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Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger posted graphics from the report on X, but there’s more than just pictures and figures.

Here are a few big pieces of information from the 16-page annual report. OpenDorse is the home of Texas’ official NIL marketplace.

NIL spending ballooned in 2024-25

In 2023-24, OpenDorse reported that the total spend on NIL was $1.17 billion. Collective spending made up almost $1 billion while commercial NIL, or “real NIL,” made up just under $250 million.

That total figure almost doubled in 2024-25, with $2.26 billion being spent on NIL. However, the split moved closer to 50% as commercial NIL caught up with collective spending.

The data projects what money made via revenue sharing now available in the wake of the House v. NCAA settlement will do to the split. Termed “collegiate NIL,” OpenDorse estimates that $1.5 billion will go to student-athletes via revenue sharing. This is also known as “publicity rights.”

A nice percentage of six-figure deals

Poor Hunter Dickinson. The Michigan and Kansas center was often the target of jokes about getting a job or joining LinkedIn, with barbs lobbed his way about staying in college for too long. Dickinson not only leaned into the meme, he represents a percentage of student-athletes who made $100,000 or more thanks to NIL and deferred pro opportunities as a result.

Commercial NIL took off

Steve Sarkisian said following spring football that former quarterback Quinn Ewers didn’t take a dime from the Texas One Fund, the Longhorns’ NIL collective. He is one of several top collegiate stars who were able to succeed in the commercial world.

As the numbers above explained, commercial NIL exploded. It helped players like Ewers and it will likely help his successor in Arch Manning. Manning, who is seen as an NIL superstar, has deals already with Vuori and Red Bull.

Some positions are worth more than others

The data speaks for itself at the Power 4 level.

Other interesting data

  • Women’s sports benefitted from commercial NIL, specifically in the most high-profile women’s college sports. Volleyball athletes saw growth earnings of almost 150% in the most recent year. Softball benefitted too, and Texas star Teagan Kavan was featured in OpenDorse’s literature.
  • The portal caused “the average NIL deal price tripled in the weeks following a portal window. For hoops, the March buzz led offers to surge more than 5x above previous payout levels.”
  • Collectives got to work. Collective spending was up 824% in June 2025 compared to June 2024. Much of that likely had to do with getting NIL deals under the pre-House rules in before the restrictions went into place. The concept of “front loading” payments—stacking collective payments prior to the approval of the House settlement and subsequent July 1 cap year—was not just a theoretical possibility, the data proved it.”
  • Basketball had one piece of unique data. Increase in scoring output translated to increase in financial returns.

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Access to the full OpenDorse report can be obtained at this link.

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