The YouTube x Shopify of NIL: A New Way For Athletes to Make Money
The YouTube x Shopify of NIL: A New Way For Athletes to Make Money
The company transforming the way athletes monetize their personal brand in the creator world.
Ever since NIL went live on July 1, 2021 college athletes have been using social platforms to monetize their brand.
This includes the likes of Tik Tok, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Brands such as Gatorade, Beats by Dre, and StockX pay these athletes to promote their products.
However, the social media platforms are the real winners - as they run ads on the content created by the users.
But what if there was a place for athletes to host their content and get paid for it?
I came across this company the other day and had to share it.
An NIL Platform for Athletes
Athletes.tv is a platform for sports content creators to monetize their name, image, and likeness through videos, documentaries, podcasts, and even NFT’s.
Think of it like YouTube x Shopify.
I first noticed them when they released that they will be adding the ability for athletes to sell merchandise and NFT’s from their profiles.
It’s truly about athletes maximizing their monetary potential - which for those of you that read my content know I’m all about.
Why should an athlete only get paid from brands and a small percentage fee from platform companies like YouTube or Tik Tok?
In this new Web 3.0 world they should be entitled to brand deals and a large percentage fee from the platform.
This is essentially what athletes.tv is aiming to accomplish.
The Creator Vs. The Platform
Platforms (IG, Tik Tok, etc) need users to create content which elicits the kind of engagement that is attractive to advertisers.
Users need the platforms to reach wider audiences and potential revenue streams.
“Creator” is the vague term being adopted for a new generation of social-media content producers/influencers.
Ad-driven platforms profit from our data and attention without giving much back, the likes of Clubhouse and athletes.tv promise to deliver a larger share of value to users by allowing for “direct monetization.”
Instead of the company’s selling ads based on overall engagement, creators can get paid by their individual viewers, who might buy subscriptions, send tips, or crowdfund new projects.
So How Is athletes.tv Different?
It’s a social media platform for athletes to earn money. Thanks to NIL, all college athletes (and some high school athletes) can use it to make cash.
Videos seem to earn ad revenue faster and at a higher rate on athletes.tv than they would on other video platforms.
Their only requirement for getting paid is a total of 5,000 views on the channel as a whole.
On YouTube, you need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch time hours before monetizing is allowed.
From what I could tell, athletes.tv is still a relatively new platform, but most channels seemed to have greater than 5,000 views meaning they are earning money.
So why’s this platform make sense for athletes?
Athletes.tv makes it easy to build a community of followers looking for sports content.
The possibilities are endless:
Highlight Videos
Workout and Practice Videos
Podcasts and Interviews
Documentaries
College Commitment and Transfer Announcements
Vlogs
Sponsored Content
What’s Else Can Athletes Do ?
By building up a following, athletes open up a ton of monetization possibilities, and athletes.tv is able to support all of them.
In addition to the ad revenue from videos, athletes will be able to sell physical and digital products including merchandise and NFTs on athletes.tv.
I see all three of them as great ways to monetize a personal brand, along with being a place for brands to reach out to athletes about sponsorship opportunities.
Athletes.tv is free for both fans and content creators.
You can check them out here - it’s pretty neat!
Happy Monday (and President’s Day) !
Let’s get after it relentlessly this week.
-AP
Sources:
https://www.athletes.tv/
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/what-the-creator-economy-promises-and-what-it-actually-does
https://twitter.com/athletes_tv
*This was a sponsored post. For more information or to sponsor a future newsletter, please reach out to me by email andrewpetcash05@gmail.com.*