Opendorse, the leading NIL company and athlete marketplace, is prepared to launch Opendorse Payments™, allowing college partners to manage NIL contracts, send NIL deals by scheduling recurring payouts, track completed activities and offer consolidated reporting to the NCAA once rules allow. The technology is already in-use by top NIL collectives and brands.
In what will inevitably become a race to see which institution sends the first NIL deals to their student-athletes, Opendorse partners will be ready at a moment’s notice.
“If the rules changed tomorrow, our 200+ collegiate partners could start immediately compensating student-athletes for NIL activities – using the same NIL deal builder, activity management, and payment tools that are used today by the world’s biggest brands and collectives,” said Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence. “Athletic departments will need a proven partner that is 100% focused on athlete NIL and compensation. That’s the role we’ve played for more than a decade at the highest level of sports.”
This announcement comes in the wake of NCAA President Charlie Baker’s unveiling of “Project DI” that aims to allow Division I schools to enter NIL agreements directly with their student-athletes. In January, the concept was further acknowledged by the DI Council which indicated it would be a primary discussion item at their April meeting. Once in effect, Opendorse college partners will be able to use Payments™ to easily manage enhanced and recurring payouts. While not yet accessible to colleges, Opendorse is the leading payment technology for NIL compensation among collectives and commercial companies. Thousands of brands, including 29 of the Fortune 50 companies, use Opendorse to manage NIL deals from pitch to payment. Additionally, the company is partnered with over 40 of the top collectives in college sports to facilitate NIL payments, disclosures, and deal management.
Opendorse Payments™ will provide colleges with a trusted solution that their athletes are already familiar with and using. This will help athletes and schools to centralize all NIL compensation, allowing for comprehensive insights and a simplified experience. Moreover, the technology will adhere to all compliance and disclosure requirements in line with the latest NCAA guidance and policies. The functionality will only be activated for colleges once the relevant policy updates officially take effect.
