The announcement follows last week’s launch of the Official NIL Marketplace of the Oregon Ducks, the first licensed school marketplace in college sports.
Today, we announced our commitment to build a school-specific NIL marketplace for every premium university customer free of additional cost. The announcement follows last week’s launch of the Official NIL Marketplace of the Oregon Ducks; the first licensed school NIL marketplace in college sports.
School-specific marketplaces will greatly enhance NIL support for student-athletes. With a streamlined point of access to discover and manage NIL activities, school marketplaces promise to mobilize fan bases and local organizations to offer compliant opportunities to student-athletes. Fans, brands, sponsors and donors will now have a single place to find their favorite athletes, offer deals, and complete payments through the Opendorse platform.
“School-specific marketplaces will elevate the NIL landscape,” said Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence. “Colleges with an Opendorse-powered marketplace will show their fan base where to go, who they can work with, and what it costs. In effect, they will empower their athletes with the world’s best solution to pursue their financial freedom. Starting today, it’s no longer a question of if every D-I school will have its own marketplace, but when.”
The benefit to student-athletes is significant. Using Opendorse, every student-athlete can review and accept NIL deals, receive payment, disclose activities for compliance, and even auto-generate tax documentation. Once a deal is completed, the athlete’s compensation at the agreed-upon amount is guaranteed. The platform allows athletes to manage all communication within their Opendorse app, rather than wading through unsecure messaging in email, texts and social media DMs.
“Our new and innovative partnership with Opendorse allows University of Oregon student-athletes to continue to maximize opportunities related to their name, image, and likeness,” said Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens in last week’s press release. “The Oregon Ducks Marketplace provides an efficient process to allow UO student-athletes to connect with those wishing to offer opportunities, benefitting them and continuing Oregon’s leadership role in all NIL-related endeavors.”
Any college or university can receive its own licensed school-specific marketplace by becoming an Opendorse premium partner. In addition to the marketplace, schools receive access to the all-in-one NIL platform, empowering student-athletes and staff with the industry’s best compliance, content and education solutions.
