Where Pennsylvania Ranks in NIL's Future

In Year 2 of NIL, Opendorse projects that Pennsylvania will be a top-10 market nationally.

Name, Image and Likeness legislation has brought great opportunities for college athletes in its first year and will only grow. Opendorse, an NIL company that supports athletes in building and monetizing their brands, recently released some fascinating numbers regarding NIL.

For instance, did you know that the Big Ten was the top conference for total NIL activity and compensation through Year 1? And that the SEC footprint is about to become a behemoth in NIL compensation?

Opendorse's "N1L Report" offers a wide-ranging look at NIL's impact on college athletics, projecting that the number of participating sponsors and student-athletes will double in Year 2. Opendorse also projects that athletes will sign more national deals, now that companies have data to analyze, and more athletes will become part of the collective process.

Some of the more notable numbers involve the future of NIL compensation. Opendorse projects that NIL compensation will top $1.1 billion in the next fiscal year, with the Southeast accounting for 20 percent of that.

Opendorse reports that schools in the Southeast (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolin) will generate $234.5 million in NIL compensation, by far the most of any region.

By comparison, schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas will generate $153.3 million, and Atlantic schools (in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.) will generate $135.3 million.

Some interesting data reporting from @opendorse on the first year of NIL

Here is more from the full report: https://t.co/kFded6a005 pic.twitter.com/1PuMJNyPm3

— Sportico (@Sportico) July 1, 2022

Further, Pennsylvania projects favorably among the top states in producing NIL deals. Opendorse projects Pennsylvania will rank eighth among states in total compensation spending, behind Florida, Texas, California, Ohio, North Carolina, Kansas and New York.

That Pennsylvania's NIL future appears promising will be welcome news for athletic director Patrick Kraft, who began his term July 1. However, Kraft still believes Penn State has work to do.

In an interview with Nate Bauer of Blue-White Illustrated, Kraft said that Penn State is behind in the NIL marketplace.

"But I will tell you this," Kraft added, "we’ll have it fixed in three to four weeks. What’s happened is there’s just been a lack of information going around everywhere."

In a separate interview with journalist Rich Scarcella, Kraft said that the fix will include better communication.

"The coaches are on an island," he said. "The donors are on an island. I believe we will have the best NIL situation in the country, but it's going to take time."

Check out the Opendorse report for more on the future of the NIL marketplace.

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