ONIT Athlete Paid $1.6 Million in NIL this Fall

ONIT Athlete, a rapidly growing Boise, Idaho-based NIL trading card company, has reported over $1.6 million in NIL royalty payments to student-athletes during the fall 2023 athletic season. This sum of money flowing into the pockets of student-athletes is significant; however, the royalty payments become even more impressive when it is noted that ONIT Athlete currently offers trading cards at only 25 of the 363 Division I Universities nationwide.

Without a doubt, the fall season is the biggest time of the year for college sports, with football dominating the market for NIL merchandise and collectibles. Sheridan Hodson, Co-Founder of ONIT Athlete, highlights a commitment to creating opportunities outside of just football: “ONIT has proven to be the NIL leader in trading card collectibles, and we are very enthusiastic about creating substantial NIL opportunities for athletes on men's and women's teams.”

Projections from this expansion indicate a significant increase in money paid to student-athletes; according to Hodson: “Our goal is working with over 10,000 athletes in 2024 and paying more than $7 million in NIL payments to collegiate student-athletes.”

The proliferation of ONIT Athlete’s offerings in schools nationwide benefits the NIL economy as a whole. With question marks still surrounding the main driver of NIL wealth – NIL collective contracts  the formation of legitimate industries like ONIT Athlete trading cards provide a sustainable secondary income source. One that is less market and booster-dependent than the collective payment regime. Implementing these royalty-based markets in player licensing for video games, merchandise, and collectibles is paramount in providing a safety net for athlete payment in the event that the current and fragile NIL collective system goes belly up.