Canadian Agency Signs First NIL Deal in College Athletics History

After years of ongoing legislation, members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), U.S. state legislators, and members of Congress have now made it legal for student-athletes to sell their name, image, and likeness (NIL) for paid endorsement deals.

When the NIL rules went into effect at midnight, July 1st, Toronto-based digital marketing agency, The Influence Agency and Six Star Pro Nutrition, quickly became the first businesses to sign paid endorsements with U.S. college athletes. The list includes Edgar Padilla Jr. (University of Illinois, Basketball), Hanna and Haley Cavinder (Fresno State, Basketball), Moriah Oliveira (University of Miami, Athletics), Gage Dyer (Oklahoma University, Gymnastics), and many more to come.

The Influence Agency and Six Star Pro Nutrition partnered with Edgar Padilla Jr, a sophomore men’s basketball player, who made the first post. The partnership is a full-circle moment for the Padilla family as Padilla Jr.’s father, Edgar Sr., and his uncle, Giddel, were both players on the 1996 University of Massachusetts’ Final Four team when the NCAA stripped the team of their Final Four title because a player accepted a gift from an agent.

Edgar Padilla Jr, a sophomore men’s basketball player, who made the first post.

Athletes posed with Six Star Pro Nutrition's 100% Whey Protein in one hand, and a $1 bill signalling they made their first dollar by partnering with Six Star Pro Nutrition.

“Working with The Influence Agency (TIA) allowed us to be nimble and creative when it came to the campaign’s overall execution,” said Jarrod Jordan, the Chief Marketing Officer for Iovate Health Sciences International, the parent company of Six Star Pro Nutrition. “TIA’s ability to streamline our influencer contracting and negotiation process was one of the reasons Six Star Pro Nutrition was able to sign athletes right at 12:01 a.m.”

Twin sisters Hanna and Haley Cavinder, of the Fresno State women’s basketball team, were also amongst the first to enter into an endorsement deal with Six Star Pro Nutrition. The twins have a combined social following of over 500K followers on Instagram and more than 1M on TikTok.

“Recent laws enabling college athletes to use their Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) for paid partnerships truly unlocks a new era of sports marketing. A long overdue one for that matter! The league in which these athletes compete leverages the players' NIL to promote the event; knowing that the athletes competing in these highly-advertised events can now get their rightful piece of the pie fills me with emotions of satisfaction and justice,” says John Bastawrous, Senior Client Success Manager at The Influence Agency. “Without failure, in our recent campaign with Six Star Pro Nutrition, every athlete we coordinated a partnership with was excited beyond belief for the opportunity, and I couldn't be happier to have been part of one of the first agencies to facilitate a deal with them.”

This landmark ruling is a victory for college athletes across the U.S. and will create new opportunities for athletes to delve into the ever-growing world of influencer marketing. The Influence Agency and Six Star Pro Nutrition are excited to continue their work in ushering in the new wave of influencers in the sports marketing and nutrition industry.

Written by Kaela Johnson, The Influence Agency.