From CU Athletics:
A collaboration with INFLCR to provide businesses & student-athletes with a direct connection for name, image and likeness opportunities.
University of Colorado Athletics, in partnership with national leader INFLCR, has launched a comprehensive Name, Image and Likeness platform — Buffs NIL Exchange — that will provide the opportunity for CU student-athletes and interested outside parties to directly connect on NIL partnerships and opportunities.
Buffs NIL Exchange, part of the groundbreaking Buffs with a Brand program, will be the central marketplace for all NIL information, education, opportunities, and reporting. Interested parties and businesses will now be able to register through an online portal and partner directly with CU student-athletes.
“I’m thrilled we can offer the Buffs NIL Exchange as our NIL platform for all Buff supporters and current student-athletes,” CU Athletic Director Rick George said. “This platform will tremendously increase the NIL opportunities for our student-athletes while supporting local and national businesses. We are excited for our student-athletes to capitalize in this new landscape and look forward to having our supporters and businesses utilize this platform!”
The partnerships will open the door for all brand-focused activities, provided they meet legal requirements as set by the Colorado legislature and follow University of Colorado NIL protocols. Registration will be approved in advance by CU Athletics.
After initial registration, all discussions and negotiations will be directly between outside parties and Colorado student-athletes.
Within the INFLCR app, student-athletes will have access to third parties that provide opportunities that range from autographs to promoting brands on social media to endorsements, as well as conducting camps, clinics, private sports lessons, personal appearances, supporting charitable organizations and more.
Colorado has carefully planned its strategic partnership with INFLCR, which has quickly become the national leader in athlete brand building, NIL opportunity creation and content management. Its platforms are used by more than 3,500 collegiate and professional sports teams, with more than 70,000 active athlete users.
CU Athletics has also developed targeted in-house strategies to assist student-athletes in maximizing their opportunities.
The department has created a multifaceted, nationwide marketing campaign to help attract interest from businesses across the nation as well as locally who could have an interest in working with a Buffs student-athlete.
CU has also formed a strategic team of staff members to address the ever-changing and rapidly growing NIL marketplace. The team consists of staffers from throughout Colorado Athletics, including Compliance, Leadership and Career Development, Marketing and Player Development, each of whom will work to help grow the program and increase NIL opportunities for every CU student-athlete.
Every Colorado athlete will have access to INFLCR’s content delivery system. The system allows student-athletes to immediately and seamlessly access media, photography, videos and other content that bolsters their online presence. The system also provides analytics that will help student-athletes measure audience engagement.
At the same time, CU will have information that will allow the department to help analyze data that impacts attendance, recruiting, fan engagement, fundraising and other critical strategic goals.
Buffs NIL Exchange will be a free service to student-athletes and businesses.
After registering via the online portal, which is completed in four easy steps, a business, collective or individual will be granted access to a searchable database of Colorado student-athletes. Those parties can then message the student-athlete directly or request contact information in order to begin NIL transaction discussions.
Interested parties are encouraged to register early in order to access student-athletes who will match their specific needs.
INFLCR and Colorado Athletics will not be a party to the negotiations. Those will be conducted strictly between the student-athlete and the interested business.
There are also other significant benefits available to the student-athlete through the INFLCR program. They include a payment processing tool that will ensure secure payment for the student-athlete, as well as an automatic tally on a consolidated 1099 tax form, a feature that will help student-athletes achieve more efficient and accurate tax reporting.
Buffs NIL Exchange is the latest advancement of the nationally recognized Buffs with a Brand program, which was launched on June 1, 2020. Buffs with a Brand has been honored nationally with an “Exceptional Activities” award at the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers conference and has also been recognized by Sports Illustrated as a leading program “going the extra mile” to help its student athletes.
CU Athletics will also begin providing additional academic incentives and awards to all student-athletes to enhance the department’s support of student-athlete success. Student-athletes will become eligible to start receiving benefits this semester and can earn up to $5,980 per academic year.
The addition of Buffs NIL Exchange will only serve to enhance and enrich CU’s reputation as a department geared to help its student-athletes enjoy a world-class experience in every facet of their educational experience at Colorado.
“The Buffs NIL Exchange opens the door for Colorado student-athletes to connect with businesses in their own backyard,” said INFLCR President Jim Cavale. “Colorado has been utilizing INFLCR since 2019 to empower their student-athletes with technology to grow their personal brands. The addition of their customized Local Exchange platform positions them as leaders in the collegiate NIL space, giving their student-athletes the ability to use INFLCR’s core features to grow their brands and the Buffs NIL Exchange to capitalize on those efforts.”
About INFLCR
INFLCR, a Teamworks company, is the leading content and compliance platform for elite athletic programs, educating and preparing staff and athletes for the NIL era, all powered by best-in-class content delivery via mobile app. INFLCR works with more than 3,500 collegiate and professional sports teams with a network of over 70,000 active athlete users.
With revolutionary new products like the Compliance Exchange, Storyteller Playbook, and administrator dashboard, INFLCR enhances the athlete experience with a comprehensive solution for responsible brand-building on social media, as well as a fully compliant path to external commercial activity from NIL. See what products INFLCR has to offer here.
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