The Process of NIL in Arizona and NAU
Brief Research behind NIL and The Lumberjack Exchange
For select colleges across the United States, 2016 was a highly anticipated year.
NIL or name, image and likeness became an awaited rule in collegiate sports as athletes were now allowed to be paid for their commitment and energy towards a sport.
According to a journal about sports psychology in action, authors Peter J. Economous and Alexander Gamble state, “NIL is the legal term that includes the right to promote products or services based on one’s name, image or other aspects associated with their identity.
With NIL student athletes are able to be paid from external companies and businesses in exchange for promotional videos posted on their personal social media accounts or promotional photos/events with the business.
When looking for a school to sign with in February on National Signing Day, many athletes are given a scholarship by interested schools that covers their tuition fees based on their high school performance. For those who are Walk-ons or without scholarship, the Big Sky Conference also offers a Special Assistance Fund that athletes can apply for to receive a “cost of living” stipend that ranges between $2,000 to $6,000.
Athletes are giving these scholarships and/or aid that assists with the cost of living. In Flagstaff specifically, cost of living is typically higher than other locations of the main Arizona universities – University of Arizona in Tucson and Arizona State University in Phoenix or Tempe more specifically.
At NAU there are a few local companies and businesses that have NIL deals athletes can sign including The Lumberyard and Desert Financial Credit Union. These are offered to athletes through the Lumberjack Exchange.
Figure 1: The Lumberjack Exchange homepage and QR code.Photo courtesy of NAU Athletics website.
The Lumberjack exchange is a customized portal for NAU athletes to get in contact with local businesses offering NIL deals and it is where NIL transactions are managed.
These contracts and deals made between the business and player have to happen in a portal and through their own conversations as it is strictly prohibited from “arranging endorsement deals between college athletes and third parties. (DeBarros, 2022).
The NAU Athletics website states, “After being approved, registered businesses can search, filter, and initiate conversations directly with student-athletes regarding NIL opportunities. Student athletes can view all businesses in the exchange and negotiate terms on any NIL deals they would like to pursue, and they can also initiate conversations with registered businesses themselves in the Lumberjack Exchange.”
Audrey Taylor, NAU women’s basketball players has an NIL deal with Desert Financial Credit Union, one of the few local deals available to Flagstaff student-athletes. She explains that having the deal is a “fun way to make extra money” but she’s also been on the other side of not finding a sufficient deal.
“I've struggled with being a part of NIL outside of my local community,” said Taylor. “I think it's hard to get deals like that and get deals that maybe actually pay you money, or instead of just giving you a few free products and requesting you post a bunch for them.”
In addition to athletes trying to find sufficient deals to support themselves, it can be difficult for athletes from less popular sports to find a deal.
Figure 2: Lists of the Power 5 NIL transactions and Non-Power 5 NIL transactions by sport. Graphic Courtesy of Business College Sports Website.
In the chart above, the data from the INFLCR/Teamwork’s website - where NIL deals are completed for many schools – shows that football and men’s basketball tend to be the highest earning sports with NIL deals. Sports like women’s soccer, tennis, golf, etc. are not even ranked on the Power 5 school’s transactions list.
In an additional graphic from INFLCR, it breaks down the average and median financial values of each transaction an athlete can make.
Figure 3: List of average and median values by transaction type, listing only the top 5. Courtesy of Business College Sports Website.
This data may not be accurate for all universities attempting to implement NIL regulations and programs but it’s an accumulation of all the data from universities using the INFLCR app like the Arizona universities.
It’s important to acknowledge that while many feel as though NIL is taking away from the amateurism of collegiate athletics, these student athletes are putting in the work to make money from NIL deals in order to support themselves while in school.
REFERENCES & SOURCES:
Audrey Taylor -(Emailed through SID: Stayson Isobe - Stayson.Isobe@nau.edu)
Dosh, K. (2023, March 13). All the stats for Year 1 of nil. Business of College Sports®. https://businessofcollegesports.com/name-image-likeness/all-the-stats-for-year-1-of-nil/
Economou, P. J., & Gamble, A. (2025). Navigating an intercollegiate athletes’ transition related to the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) interim policy. Journal of Sport
Northern Arizona University Athletics. (2023, July 11). Northern Arizona Athletics, INFLCR, launch Lumberjack Exchange. https://nauathletics.com/news/2023/7/3/general-northern-arizona-athletics-inflcr-launch-lumberjack-exchange
Psychology in Action, 16(2), 155–164. https://doi.org.libproxy.nau.edu/10.1080/21520704.2024.2348153
Special assistance fund. Special Assistance Fund - Big Sky Conference. (n.d.). https://bigskyconf.com/sports/2009/7/7/SAOF.aspx#:~:text=The%20Special%20Assistance%20Fund%20is,may%20also%20receive%20SAF%20benefits.