The college soccer season kicks off this week, and the new season marks a big change in the era of collegiate athletics. The 2021 season will be the first that student-athletes can profit from their  name, image, and likeness (referred to as NIL) while still maintaining amateur status for eligibility for college sports.

Read more: Is the NIL college soccer’s saving grace? 

While the gates are open, there has not been a flood of interest for soccer players. Men’s soccer was always going to be an uphill climb. Many of the top prospects bypassed the college route for an early entry into the professional game. It’s left the men’s game with opportunities for more players, but not the most noteworthy or popular players staying around for long, which is a tough situation for a marketing standpoint.

The women’s game is in a very different place. The college game is the pathway for the almost every player - and the four-year path is the default. The player pool is full of prospects who could be the next Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, or any of the other marketing giants of the sport. 

Despite the potential in the women’s college game, the initial rush for college soccer players has been slow, at best. Florida State midfielder Jaelin Howell was one of the first players reported to sign a deal as part of the new NIL movement. Howell has a deal with Milner Technologies, a business technology company based in Georgia. Milner Technologies signed the deal with four players Taylor Burrell (volleyball), Rayniah Jones (track), Trinity Thomas (gymnastics) and Howell for $10,000 to be split between the four, according to the Miami Herald. 

Howell is arguably the most recognizable name in college soccer currently. She is the star of the Florida State team. She won the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top college soccer player, last season. She has been called into the U.S. Women’s National Team. And, perhaps, most importantly she has over 15,000 followers on instagram. There is a lot of reason to believe she would be a desirable commodity from a market perspective. 

Most of these deals so far have been focused on social media, Opendorse, a company that specializes in NIL, cited that 88.5% of the NIL activity in July being social media promotions. It’s worth looking into the most popular players on those platforms. Sarah Fuller, former Vanderbilt kicker and goalkeeper and current North Texas goalkeeper, boasts 147,000 followers on instagram and 71,000 followers on twitter. Fuller states on her twitter profile to contact Wasserman Media Group for NIL inquiries. She’s also opened a clothing shop with her likeness from her American football kicking days on shirts and sweaters. 

Fuller is a bit of a unicorn though. She had the mass appeal of playing two sports and then the eloquence to provide the inspirational quotes that kept her name in the mainstream sports network news for weeks during the college football season last year. 

Oklahoma State’s Kim Rodriguez, California’s Angelina Anderson, and North Carolina’s Talia DellaPeruta have announced either representation deals or social media promotions on their channels in the past month. Ole Miss’ Channing Foster and Molly Martin have also signed representation deals with Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux.  

The handful of initial players to try their luck in the business was not enough for women’s soccer to even crack the top 10 sports in terms of market share of NIL deals in July, according to Opendorse. The early focus has been on football, according to Opendorse via the reported deals so far. Football took 79% of the marketshare from the deals made in July. Men’s basketball claimed 9.6% of the market. Women’s volleyball had a 5.5% share. Women’s golf was the last sport tracked, with a 0.2% share. 

The money has not been much so far for any sport - $471 average compensation per athlete for the month, $261 average compensation per activity according to Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence - but it’s a start and a sign of an emerging industry - one that women’s soccer players will be wise to pay more attention to in the future. 

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