
With the approval of the historic House settlement on June 6th, 2025, real NIL dealmaking will have more impact than ever.
Learfield Impact is the authority on all aspects of NIL dealmaking. It represents the marketing and sponsorship rights of 150+ college properties and provides integrated college marks and IP alongside student-athlete marketing campaigns to its 12K+ brand partners.
Learfield Impact delivers innovative services focusing on three key areas:
People
The largest dedicated team of NIL leaders in college athletics
Content
Award-winning, engaging creative powered by Learfield Studios
Technology
Cutting-edge Compass NIL platform

"With the approval of the House settlement, it is imperative to surround our partners with resources and tools that drive successful student-athlete marketing initiatives. Learfield Impact represents the next big step in our leading portfolio of services, combining the three factors that optimize NIL activity – people, content and technology – to form the most powerful NIL solution in college athletics.”

Cole Gahagan
President & Chief Executive Officer
Learfield

Learfield Impact Report By the Numbers: '24-'25

$140M+
Total sponsorship spend of brand partners activating NIL campaigns
vs. $70M in '23-'24

950+
Brand partners activating NIL campaigns
vs. just over 500 in '23-'24

$16M+
Student-athlete earnings through Learfield brand partners
vs. $13.6M in '23-'24

4K+
Student-athletes participating in
brand partner NIL campaigns
vs. 2K in '23-'24

49%
Female
vs. 43% in '23-'24
51%
Male
vs. 57% in '23-'24
Participating Student-Athlete Breakdown

$3K+
Median deal size per NIL activity
(i.e., social post, appearance, etc.)

TOP 5 ATHLETICS TEAMS WITH NIL DEALS
1
Football
2
Men's Basketball
3
Women's Basketball
4
Baseball
5
Softball
3
Meet-and-Greets & Appearances

5
Photoshoot / Signage

TOP 5 STUDENT-ATHLETE NIL ACTIVITIES
1
Social Media

2
Commercial & Video Content

4
Radio

3
Meet-and-Greets & Appearances

5
Photoshoot / Signage

TOP 5 STUDENT-ATHLETE NIL ACTIVITIES
1
Social Media
2
Commercial & Video Content

4
Radio



TOP 5 SPONSOR CATEGORIES
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1
Restaurants / Quick Serve Restaurants

2
Financial Services

3
Healthcare

4
Retail

5
Entertainment / Recreation

Connecting People, Content, and Technology


People

Learfield offers expansive resources, including a team of dedicated personnel focused on maximizing student-athlete marketing opportunities with local and national brand partners. In addition to Learfield's local sponsorship teams, Learfield Impact embeds NIL sales, activation, and content resources on campus, who are the authority on schools' corporate partners and student-athletes, connecting them with the ideal brands for authentic NIL dealmaking. Learfield's people accelerate NIL dealmaking opportunities in the post-House settlement era of college athletics.

Learfield NIL
Business Leaders
Learfield offers dedicated, on-campus NIL business leaders for universities seeking additional resources to help sponsors activate marketing campaigns featuring student-athletes. These dedicated resources help maximize student athletes' connections with brands and grow more NIL opportunities.
350% More
Dealmaking Activity
at properties with NIL personnel



Content Creators
The Emmy Award-winning Learfield Studios team delivers student-athlete storytelling that authentically incorporates brand partners into NIL campaigns. The demand for original NIL content has exploded, with Learfield Studios investing in over 50 on-site content creators supporting school partners. The number of NIL content creators will grow to over 65 this year.

Content

The Emmy Award-winning Learfield Studios team is a central pillar of Learfield Impact solutions. The team offers best-in-class content and brand storytelling that looks inside athletic programs, their people, and the traditions that bring college sports to life. High-end content production is distributed in short-form or docuseries formats through various school and student-athlete digital and social channels.
The Learfield Studios team also delivers distribution strategies to share NIL stories of student-athletes with college fans throughout the year. Learfield Studios amplified over 200 content NIL campaigns featuring over 1,200 student-athletes, which yielded over 105 million impressions this year.


Technology

Learfield's award-winning Compass NIL platform manages authentic NIL dealmaking between student-athletes and Learfield's 12,000+ brand partners. The platform also enables NIL group licensing activity at scale, from EA Sports College Football to jerseys and trading cards.
Learfield school partners have access to anonymized Compass NIL data and analytics, which provides insights by conference, and sport and position.



Technology

Learfield's award-winning Compass NIL platform manages authentic NIL dealmaking between student-athletes and Learfield's 12,000+ brand partners. The platform also enables NIL group licensing activity at scale, from EA Sports College Football to jerseys and trading cards. Learfield school partners have access to anonymized Compass NIL data and analytics, which provides insights by conference, and sport and position.



Licensed Merchandise
Powered by Compass NIL, Learfield Impact enables real NIL dealmaking and merchandise licensing activity at scale, including jerseys, trading cards, and group licensing programs such as the EA Sports College Football game – all powered by Compass NIL. This integrated solution enhances opportunities for student-athletes and accelerates product availability for fans.

$26.6M
Reported Sales for Licensed Merchandise
+5.4M from '23-'24
5M
Unique users during the first week of the EA Sports College Football game launch.
3X
The annual users from the last football video game in 2014.
14K
Student-Athletes opted into the EA Sports College Football game.
400+
Schools represented.

Compass NIL is the largest group licensing platform in college athletics.

Compass NIL is the largest group licensing platform in college athletics.

Connecting
12K+
brand sponsors to
50K+
student-athletes for real NIL dealmaking.

200K+
Student-Athlete Deals in Compass NIL

“Student-athlete marketing unlocks the power of storytelling, which is essential in the post-House era of college athletics. Learfield Impact connects brands with the right student-athletes to unlock next-level engagement with university fan bases. We are the industry leader in delivering real NIL campaigns, which humanize brand partnerships and invoke trust in their university communities.”

Solly Fulp
EVP of NIL Growth & Development
Learfield


Impact
Learfield Impact unlocks opportunities for universities, student-athletes, and brands, driving growth and opportunities across the board. By connecting student-athletes with top brands, Learfield Impact not only helps to boost sponsorship revenue but also elevates the visibility of the brands, making this collaboration a win-win for everyone involved.


University
Universities gain a collaborative partner to assist them in exploring NIL opportunities, linking them with brands, and increasing sponsorship revenue. These partnerships enable schools to support their student-athletes by incorporating them into genuine NIL campaigns with Learfield brand partners, resulting in increased earning opportunities above and beyond revenue-share payments.


University
Universities gain a collaborative partner to assist them in exploring NIL opportunities, linking them with brands, and increasing sponsorship revenue. These partnerships enable schools to support their student-athletes by incorporating them into genuine NIL campaigns with Learfield brand partners, resulting in increased earning opportunities above and beyond revenue-share payments.

“Learfield’s NIL Services unites our athletics department, student-athletes, and brand partners to drive real NIL growth. We’ve realized success by integrating Learfield’s on-campus NIL leaders within our BroncoPRO NIL team and locking arms with Bronco Sports Properties to maximize student-athlete opportunities.”

Jeramiah Dickey
Director of Athletics
Boise State University

“Crimson Tide Sports Marketing/Learfield and the Advantage Center have been instrumental in our NIL success. Together, they’ve connected 200+ of our student-athletes with 60+ brand partners – creating real opportunities for our athletes and delivering meaningful impact for our program. With LLH Healthcare securing the naming rights to the Advantage Center, we’re excited to build on that success and accelerate NIL growth opportunities, benefiting our student-athletes and the Alabama brand.”

Greg Byrne
Director of Athletics
University of Alabama



Student-Athlete
Student-athletes benefit from Learfield Impact services by easily accessing NIL opportunities to be compensated for their Name, Image, and Likeness and enriching their college experience. Learfield facilitates opportunities for student-athletes to collaborate with brand partners in ambassador roles, offering practical experience, networking opportunities, and real-world learning.


Student-Athlete
Student-athletes benefit from Learfield Impact services by easily accessing NIL opportunities to be compensated for their Name, Image, and Likeness and enriching their college experience. Learfield facilitates opportunities for student-athletes to collaborate with brand partners in ambassador roles, offering practical experience, networking opportunities, and real-world learning.
“Working with Learfield was an incredible experience. As a student-athlete, it means a lot to be part of partnerships where we truly feel supported and valued. The entire process – from campaign planning to execution – was seamless, and it was clear how much thought and care went into ensuring our voices and schedules were respected.”

Evan Svoboda
University of Wyoming
Football

“Working with BSP made my life better. I was able to find amazing opportunities within my community that allowed me to further my passion in life and sport. They helped me with the scheduling and planning of everything so that I could continue to focus on school and my career as a swimmer. While being a full time student athlete it can be difficult to find opportunities on my own and BSP helped me to facilitate everything and I am so happy to work with them!”

Phoebe Bacon
University of Wisconsin
Women’s Swim

“Being a part of the University of Wyoming NIL campaigns has been one of the most impactful experiences of my career. None of it would have been possible without the help of our incredible team and brand partnerships at Wyoming Sports Properties. Their commitment, support, and creativity were key in helping our student athletes succeed. Through them, I could build my personal brand and proudly represent Wyoming!”

Emily Mellema
University of Wyoming
Women’s Basketball
![emily m].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f18102_3a02c5c709114a67af63aa1661501d1c~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_624,h_416,al_c,q_80,enc_avif,quality_auto/emily%20m%5D.jpg)
“Getting to work with Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and Clear Fork Bank was honestly one of the coolest parts of this year. Having my own taco on the menu at Fuzzy’s was unreal. Clear Fork helped me see what it means to carry myself professionally off the field. Huge shoutout to Ali for making everything run smoothly, she kept it fun but ensured we handled business too.”

Brett Lanman
Abilene Christian University
Baseball

"My two years at CSU were some of the best because of my support in the NIL space. I appreciate Nick and his help in executing my deals and navigating my busy schedule to work with different partners in the community."

Nique Clifford
Colorado State University Men's Basketball

“Working with you all on NIL this year has been a valuable part of my experience at Bama. The Alabama Advantage Center has created a space where I feel comfortable asking questions and getting clear guidance, which has helped me better understand my opportunities and feel more confident in managing my brand. I’ve grown so much on the NIL side thanks to the guidance and support!”

Jessica Timmons
University of Alabama
Women's Basketball


Brand

By collaborating closely with brands, Learfield enables partners to leverage student-athlete marketing in their sponsorship campaigns. These student-athletes play key roles in digital and social campaigns, original content produced by Learfield Studios, and various marketing channels. This approach fosters a stronger bond with fans, leading to increased engagement, which drives business outcomes.


Brand
By collaborating closely with brands, Learfield enables partners to leverage student-athlete marketing in their sponsorship campaigns. These student-athletes play key roles in digital and social campaigns, original content produced by Learfield Studios, and various marketing channels. This approach fosters a stronger bond with fans, leading to increased engagement, which drives business outcomes.

Fanbase Fan Report
Brand partners experience positive outcomes when NIL assets are authentically integrated into sponsorships. Brands that incorporated NIL assets SCORED HIGHER across all key brand metrics compared to those without NIL assets.
Without NIL Assets
With NIL Assets

0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
12%
29%
19%
39%
52%
104%
56%
66%
59%
65%
Brand Awareness
Brand Consideration
Positive Brand Impression
Brand Regard (Higher)
Purchase Intent (Higher)

Fans who recognize a brand as a sponsor with student-athlete influencer marketing have a
65% Higher
Purchase Intent toward that brand.

"We went all in with Learfield and Sooner Sports Properties to tap into student-athlete storytelling in a fun and creative way. The year-round campaign included over 60 student-athletes from six sports covering both men's and women's teams that engaged Sooners fans and drove business growth."

Jonathan Fowler
President
Fowler Automotive

"The partnership between Weber and Ohio State has driven tremendous return for our company in a multitude of ways. Weber has experienced the strength of Buckeye Nation as our visibility and sales have increased in the Columbus market and nationally. Our limited-time Ohio State kettle sold out online due to the amplification and partnership with Ohio State Football athlete Emeka Egbuka."

Alyssa O’Brien
Manager- Influencers & Partnerships
Weber Grills

"I have witnessed the impact of NIL partnerships in reaching priority populations statewide. By working with student-athletes, coaches, and staff, we effectively transformed critical health messages to all age groups by collaborating with relatable role models. Recently, our NIL strategy for a substance use prevention campaign outperformed all other tactics, exceeding our goals. We are excited to continue using this innovative approach in our community outreach."

Jasper McCroskey, MA
Marketing Contracts Manager
Iowa Health and Human Services
