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Student Athletes Have The Right To Profit From Their Name, Image And Likeness: Now What?

Forbes Coaches Council

Shaan Rais is a professional speaker and leadership and organizational development consultant.

According to Education Next, "in 2019, the NCAA reported that revenue from athletics totaled $18.9 billion." Student-athletes aren't paid for their labor, nor were they allowed to benefit from their name, image, and likeness until recently when the NCAA enacted a name, image and likeness policy that permits athletes to benefit from their personal brand.

The change is welcomed by critics who argue that students were locked out of an economy fueled by their labor. While the NIL policy doesn't allow players to be compensated directly by the schools (pay to play), athletes can become spokespersons, make appearances and take advantage of the incentives that come with having a solid personal brand.

While the internet is debating the pros and cons of the NCAA policy, my focus is on how to prepare emerging leaders for the influence, impact and access they will have once their personal brands become their primary source of revenue.

An article written by Fox News cited that 78% of professional athletes are broke three years after retirement. In the last two weeks, we've seen countless celebrities jeopardize their livelihoods because of emotional triggers and public breakdowns. The reasons for these staggering statistics range from overspending to poor financial management.

How do we prevent student-athletes from traveling down the same road? The answer is multifaceted, but like any other CEO with influence, student-athletes can benefit from access to executive brand coaching.

Unfortunately, most industry leaders don't recognize the importance of guarding their name, image and likeness until their brand's reputation is threatened. We have to do better for our young athletes.

Here, I've outlined a four-step personal development plan that collegiate athletes should implement to develop, protect and ensure the longevity of their NIL.

Assess core competencies.

Knowledge of self is vital. As young athletes become newly minted influencers, the first order of business to manage a personal brand is understanding their core competencies. Athletes can ascertain this knowledge through personality, motivation and skill assessments. The assessments can support the athlete in understanding their strengths and shortcomings, and the results can aid in developing a strategy for their personal development plan.

Identify their values.

Once the athlete understands their core competencies, it's time to dig deeper. The secret to sustaining success is leaning into your value system, which becomes the foundation of self-regulation, discipline and emotional management.

These essential skills are missing from the leadership landscape, as we've seen in the recent news with actors and comedians alike. This lack of understanding is a sign of an underdeveloped character and is cited as the number one reason for public meltdowns and legacy-eroding behavior.

Design a personal development plan.

With the core competencies identified and a solid value system in place, it's time to provide the athlete with a personal development plan that helps them strengthen key areas and identify additional resources they will need to grow personally and professionally.

Create a leadership development plan.

Most collegiate athletes won't go into the pros, so the personal brand coupled with their education must be positioned to survive beyond college. To protect their legacy, I encourage student-athletes, parents, colleges, universities, etc., to build a team of advisors and coaches focused on the player's future and transition into leadership.

Are you worried that these advisors will prevent athletes from enjoying their college experience? What I am advocating for are executive brand coaches. Coaches whose sole purpose is to help the players develop their executive presence, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution and critical-thinking skills.

The biggest mistake a student-athlete/emerging brand influencer can make is not leaning into personal development. Intelligent business and life decisions result from a developed character supported by a coach who is there to enhance the player's performance on and off the field.


Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?


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