Michigan State Hosts Innovative NIL Content Workshop

Two-day event brings 100 athletes together with brands, content expert Sam Green

After the Thanksgiving holiday, Michigan State athletics hosted their second EverGreen NIL Celebration, highlighting the Name, Image and Likeness achievements of its student-athletes. The only Power 5 school in the country to host such an event - and the 2023 NIL Summit's winner for best institutional program - the Spartans didn't just celebrate their athletes’ wins, but continued to educate and empower them to keep innovating in the NIL space.

Michigan State partnered with digital content creator and NIL content advisor, Sam Green - a fitting surname for the Spartans - to lead a two-day workshop on content creation and bringing brand partnerships to life. 

Over 100 student-athletes attended the workshop - hosted and sponsored by AC Marriott - and received hands-on education from Green on everything they need to know to win at NIL on social media: from how to create a custom video - captions, music, text, transitions, paid label optimization and beyond - to actually engaging with brands onsite.

AC Marriott partnered with interested athletes on individual NIL deals - earning free nights for their families at the East Lansing hotel in exchange for social media posts created with Green’s tutelage - and Green curated samples from such brands as Cherish Cherry Juice, Good Molecules, Morningside Naturals and Riot Energy, so athletes could hone their content skills with a diverse product offering.

“Over 70% of NIL deals are based on brands paying athletes to create content but a lot of athletes don’t know how to make the content that brands are looking for,” Green shared with Sports Illustrated. “I was a video editor at ESPN and learned how to do everything I did there in an eight-hour shift on expensive software from my phone so that I could teach athletes how to take advantage of the opportunity they have in front of them.”

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Green - who danced in college and the NBA for the Charlotte Hornets and is now a content advisor for Meta’s NIL Empower 3.0 incubator - knows what the grind is like for student-athletes, who have very little free time for content creation, let alone brand partnerships. She worked hands-on with Spartans from most every team to show tips and tricks for seamless and authentic brand posts.

“The workshop was a great time for me and the other athletes that were there,” shared women’s basketball player Isa Alexander. “I got to see how simple it actually is to make content for my social media. Sam made everything really easy to understand and fun to follow along with different stations. It also got me a NIL deal that’ll help my mom out when she comes to watch games by letting her stay at the AC Hotel that we had the workshop at. Overall it was an amazing experience and I’m really grateful for it.”

Over the course of two days, Green hosted six workshops - two for the AC Marriott and four for the brands who sent product samples - showing athletes at every level of content skillsets that they can engage in NIL in new ways.

“It was one of the most impactful NIL workshops I’ve been part of,” shared football player Jalen Thompson. “From a NIL standpoint I learned how to make my own social media content through Capcut and how to navigate the space when it comes to making content for future brands I may encounter in the future. Overall it was a great experience and I walked away with a lot of tools and ways to enhance my NIL brand.”

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Green - who emceed the EverGreen NIL Celebration - met Michigan State’s Assistant Athletics Director for NIL Darien Harris at the 2021 NIL Summit and stayed in touch, following closely what the Spartans were building in-house. As they continued to expand their NIL offerings, Green knew she wanted to visit East Lansing to share her unique experience with the Spartans.

“I travel from University to University and educate student-athletes on how to navigate the NIL Space and I have to say I’m impressed with what Michigan State has established,” Green added. “The athletes created incredible content and I can’t wait to watch them crush the NIL space.”

Green’s goal for the future is to help as many student-athletes as she possibly can. She wants to teach athletes everything she wishes she would have known when she was in college.

“NIL is truly just getting started,” Green said. “Nobody is considering what NIL will look like when the YouTube generation - the kids that grew up consuming content since they were in diapers - starts playing collegiate sports. To me, that’s when NIL will truly be mainstream.”