In this blog post, I’ll break down an infographic that highlights the top brand categories within the NIL space. It shows which types of brands are most commonly partnering with student-athletes.
Breaking It Down:
This infographic does a great job of showing which brand categories are dominating the NIL game. It’s no surprise that apparel and footwear lead the way, with 20% of athletes signing deals in that category. With Nike being one of the most recognized names in sports and activewear, this makes a lot of sense.
One thing I didn’t expect was to see automotive brands among the top 11 categories. When I think of car commercials, I usually picture professional athletes—not college athletes.
Another surprise was tech, sitting at 13%. I found that interesting because I don’t often see student-athletes featured in tech ads or commercials. On the other hand, the 14% share for restaurants immediately made me think about how smart it would be for local college-town restaurants to collaborate with star athletes. If you’re a non-chain restaurant near a college campus, why not team up with a player from the softball or baseball team to promote a signature dish?
One point of confusion for me was the distinction between “food” and “restaurants” on the chart. My best guess is that “food” includes packaged products like protein bars, while “restaurants” refers to dining establishments. Still, that division wasn’t immediately clear. And if you’re like me and wondered what “CPG” means—it stands for Consumer Packaged Goods. This category includes frequently purchased items like cleaning products, toiletries, and cosmetics.
What Would I Change:
Overall, this is a strong infographic that effectively breaks down the brand categories leading in NIL deals. That said, there are a few changes I’d make to improve it.
First, I would add a key with examples for each category. Clarifying the difference between “food” and “restaurants,” for example, would help readers better understand the data and what those partnerships might look like.
Second, I’d simplify the color scheme. Using too many similar or overlapping colors makes the chart harder to interpret. Why are both apparel and beverages represented in blue, when they’re entirely different categories? Assigning distinct colors to each brand category would make the data easier to digest at a glance.
If you want to check out the original article and infographic, you can visit the link below. It includes more great insights on the current NIL landscape.
Link: https://studentathleteinsights.com/blog/seven-data-points-that-will-tell-the-story-of-nil-in-2023
Jack Erskine 
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