Hey All-Stars and Brand-Builders,

Picture this: you're scrolling through social media and see another headline about a massive NIL deal. Maybe it's a quarterback getting seven figures, or a basketball star launching their own sneaker line. It's easy to think, "That's the game: big names, big money."

But here's what nobody's talking about in those flashy headlines: some of the most innovative NIL moves are happening in places you'd never expect. High school courtrooms in Ohio. College hockey rinks in Pennsylvania. Team-wide deals that prioritize everyone over the star player. Even a pitcher's single game creating an entire merchandise empire overnight.

Welcome back to The Helm, where we cut through the noise and show you what's actually shaping the future of NIL. This week, we're diving deep into the stories that prove NIL isn't just about the biggest names—it's about the smartest strategies.

Let's navigate.

Here's a question that might make you uncomfortable: What if your state told you that you couldn't earn money from your own name?

For most college athletes reading this, that sounds absurd. NIL rights feel like a given now. But if you're a talented high school athlete in Ohio, that's your reality—and one family has decided enough is enough.

Jamier Brown isn't just any high school football player. He's a top recruit, the kind of athlete who turns heads at camps and has college programs calling. The kind of player who, in 2025, should have opportunities to monetize his brand before even stepping on a college campus.

Except there's one problem: the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) says he can't.

While most states have modernized their rules to allow high school athletes to profit from NIL, Ohio remains one of the few holdouts maintaining a complete ban. And for Brown's family, this isn't just a philosophical disagreement, it's a financial one. Reports suggest Brown had six-figure offers on the table that he couldn't legally accept.

Think about that for a moment. Six figures. Before college. Money that could change a family's financial situation, fund training, cover expenses, or simply reward a young athlete for the brand they've built through years of dedication.

All blocked by a policy that's increasingly out of step with the national landscape.

The Brown family didn't just complain, they sued. And this lawsuit isn't asking for small tweaks; it's seeking immediate policy changes and damages for the opportunities already lost.

🧠 Coach's Corner: Lawsuits like this don't just affect the individual athletes involved. They set precedents that ripple across entire states, regions, and potentially the nation. Win or lose, this case will influence how other states approach high school NIL policy.

You might be thinking, "I'm not in Ohio, so why should I care?" Here's why:

The Competitive Disadvantage: High school athletes in restrictive states face recruitment challenges. If you can't monetize your brand in high school but your competitors in other states can, you're already playing catch-up. You might be forced to choose between staying home and maximizing your earning potential.

The Precedent Effect: Legal victories (or defeats) in one state influence policy discussions nationwide. If Brown wins, expect other restrictive states to face similar challenges. If he loses, it could embolden states resisting NIL expansion.

The Equity Question: NIL at the high school level raises important questions about fairness and access. Should only college athletes benefit from their marketability? Or should talented 16- and 17-year-olds have the same rights as their slightly older peers?

🧭 Navigator Truth: The fight for NIL rights didn't end when the NCAA changed its policy in 2021. It's an ongoing evolution, and cases like Brown's remind us that progress isn't uniform. Some athletes still have to fight for rights others take for granted.

This lawsuit represents more than one athlete's fight for compensation—it's about the fundamental principle of whether young athletes should control their own marketability.

Consider the stakes:

The outcome in Ohio could accelerate high school NIL adoption nationally—or create a more fragmented landscape where your earning potential depends heavily on your zip code.

If you think NIL is just about football and basketball, you're missing one of the sport's most fascinating transformations: college hockey's complete strategic overhaul.

Gavin McKenna isn't a household name like some football or basketball stars, but in hockey circles, he represents something revolutionary. As a top NCAA prospect choosing Penn State, McKenna became the face of how NIL is fundamentally changing recruiting strategy in Olympic sports.

Here's what makes his story instructive: Penn State didn't just recruit McKenna with promises of ice time and championship opportunities. They built a comprehensive athlete support ecosystem designed around the modern reality that top recruits evaluate programs holistically.

Traditional recruiting focused on three main pillars:

Penn State's approach to McKenna added critical new dimensions:

🧭 Navigator Insight: Notice how NIL isn't operating in isolation here. It's part of a holistic value proposition that treats athletes as complete individuals with athletic, academic, nutritional, and financial needs.

Even if you don't play hockey, McKenna's recruitment offers crucial lessons:

The Holistic Athlete Approach: Top programs no longer compete solely on traditional factors. They're building comprehensive support systems that address every aspect of athlete development, including financial empowerment through NIL.

The Mid-Major Opportunity: Hockey isn't a revenue sport at most schools, yet Penn State created a compelling NIL environment. This proves you don't need to be Alabama football to build meaningful NIL opportunities. It's about strategy, not just budget.

The Early-Commitment Advantage: By offering robust NIL support before athletes arrive on campus, programs like Penn State secure commitments earlier and build deeper loyalty. Athletes aren't just choosing a team; they're choosing a career launchpad.

McKenna's case exemplifies how NIL is reshaping competition across all sports:

🧠 Coach's Corner: The smartest programs aren't just offering money, they're offering development. They're teaching athletes how to build sustainable brands that extend beyond their playing careers. That's the difference between a transaction and a transformation. This is what we like to see!

Here's a radical idea in the NIL era: What if everyone on the team benefited equally?

When most people think about NIL, they imagine quarterback getting sneaker deals or basketball stars launching signature products. The assumption is that NIL inherently favors stars over role players.

Hofstra men's lacrosse just shattered that assumption.

The entire 46-person Hofstra men's lacrosse roster secured a team-wide NIL agreement with The Athlete Amplifier*. But here's what makes this deal genuinely revolutionary:

Equal Compensation: Every athlete receives the same financial compensation: starters and reserves, stars and role players.

Professional Development: Internship opportunities that prepare athletes for life after sports.

This isn't just a feel-good story about team unity (though it is that). It's a fundamentally different approach to NIL that challenges conventional assumptions about value and compensation.

🧭 Navigator Truth: The Hofstra model recognizes something crucial, every player contributes to team success, and team success creates the platform that makes any individual NIL opportunity possible.

The Hofstra model offers several transferable insights:

For Athletes: Collective bargaining creates leverage. A unified team can negotiate terms that benefit everyone, not just stars.

For Smaller Sports: You don't need individual star power to create meaningful NIL value. Team brands and collective partnerships can generate significant opportunities.

For Long-Term Success: Deals that include education and professional development provide value that extends far beyond the immediate payment.

For Program Culture: Equality-based NIL structures can strengthen team cohesion rather than creating hierarchy and resentment.

🧠 Coach's Corner: the best teams aren't built on talent alone…they're built on trust. When NIL deals create a hierarchy where some players are "more valuable" than others, it could poison the locker room. Championship teams understand that the backup who pushes the starter in practice, the role player who sacrifices stats for wins, and the leader who holds everyone accountable are just as essential as the star. Equal NIL structures send a powerful message: we win together, we lose together, and we get paid together.

Sometimes in sports, a single performance can change everything. For Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood, one historic College World Series game became an instant business opportunity.

Throwing a no-hitter is rare. Throwing one in the College World Series? That's legendary, career-defining stuff.

For Gage Wood, that legendary performance happened on the biggest stage in college baseball… and in the NIL era, legendary performances don't just make highlight reels: they make money.

Here's where the story gets fascinating from a business perspective. Within hours (not days, not weeks—hours) of Wood's historic performance, merchandise was available featuring:

Think about the operational sophistication required to make that happen:

This isn't traditional sports merchandising where products take months to develop. This is responsive brand capitalism: turning cultural moments into immediate economic opportunities.

Let's zoom out and look at the infrastructure that made Wood's success possible, because this is where the story gets really instructive for athletes in all sports.

Campus Ink (backed by Mark Cuban… yes, that Mark Cuban) has built something genuinely innovative: a print-on-demand, student-led merchandise model that transforms how college athletes monetize their brands.

Here's why their approach matters:

Zero Inventory Risk: Traditional merchandise requires upfront investment in inventory—you print 1,000 shirts hoping they sell. Print-on-demand means products are created only when ordered. Athletes don't risk money on unsold inventory.

Student-Led Marketing: Campus Ink employs student teams who understand campus culture, social media dynamics, and how to reach fan bases authentically. This isn't corporate marketing imposed from above → it's peer-to-peer promotion.

Hyper-Local Strategy: Instead of generic athlete merchandise, Campus Ink focuses on university-specific designs, inside jokes, and local cultural moments that resonate deeply with specific fan bases.

Scalability: The model works for stars like Wood and for everyday athletes. You don't need a massive following to create and sell merchandise, you just need an authentic connection with your audience.

🧭 Navigator Insight: Campus Ink has helped athletes collectively earn over $2 million. That's not a few stars getting rich, that's thousands of athletes earning meaningful supplemental income through smart, accessible merchandising.

Even if you're not partnering with Campus Ink specifically, Wood's story offers critical lessons:

Speed Matters: In the attention economy, capturing moments when they happen is crucial. Waiting too long means interest fades and opportunities disappear.

Performance Creates Opportunity: Exceptional athletic moments translate directly into marketable brand value. Your highlight-reel plays aren't just sports memories, they're business assets.

Accessibility Is Key: The best NIL opportunities aren't limited to stars. Platforms that reduce barriers (cost, technical complexity, inventory risk) democratize earning potential.

Education Builds Sustainability: Learning the business of merchandising, marketing, and brand-building creates skills that last far beyond your playing career.

🧠 Coach's Corner: Every athlete has marketable moments, maybe not a College World Series no-hitter, but moments that resonate with your audience. The key is having infrastructure in place to capitalize when those moments happen. Don't wait until after your big game to think about merchandise, build the systems beforehand…. Be Ready, if not for you, maybe a teammate?

Looking at these four distinct cases together reveals critical patterns about where NIL is heading:

Ohio's lawsuit reminds us that NIL isn't settling into a stable equilibrium, it's still expanding. The fight for high school NIL rights represents the next frontier, with significant implications for athlete development, family finances, and competitive equity.

McKenna and Penn State demonstrate that sophisticated programs aren't just offering money… they're building comprehensive support ecosystems that address nutrition, training, education, and financial empowerment. The winners in NIL recruitment won't be those who throw the most money around; they'll be those who offer the most complete development experience.

Hofstra proves that NIL doesn't have to create hierarchy and division. Team-wide deals that prioritize education and equality can generate significant value while strengthening program culture. This model is particularly relevant for non-revenue sports where individual star power may be limited, but collective team brands hold value.

Gage Wood and Campus Ink show that modern NIL success requires systems—not just opportunities, but platforms, processes, and partnerships that can move at the speed of social media and cultural moments. Athletes who build responsive infrastructure before their big moments arrive can capitalize immediately when those moments happen.

So what do you do with all this information? Here's your playbook:

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When you read headlines about million-dollar NIL deals, remember: those flashy stories are just one dimension of a much more complex transformation.

The real NIL revolution is happening in:

These stories share a common thread: NIL is democratizing, expanding, and maturing.

It's no longer just about star quarterbacks and celebrity basketball players. It's about high school recruits demanding their rights. It's about entire teams benefiting equally. It's about athletes in every sport building responsive systems that capture value from their performances.

Most importantly, it's about you—understanding this landscape, building the right infrastructure, and positioning yourself to benefit regardless of whether you're the star or the role player, the big-name recruit or the developmental talent.

🧭 Navigator Promise: We're here to help you make sense of this complex, rapidly evolving landscape. While others chase headlines, we're mapping the real terrain—showing you not just what's happening, but what it means for your NIL journey.

The athletes who thrive in this environment won't be those who wait for opportunities to appear. They'll be those who build systems, develop skills, understand their rights, and position themselves to capitalize when moments arrive.

That's what separates those who get lucky from those who get strategic.

Stay locked in. Stay learning. You're not just an athlete—you're a brand in motion, a business in development, and an advocate for your own future.

Game on,
The NIL Navigator Team

💬 Pay it forward: Share this newsletter with an athlete, coach, or parent who wants to level up their NIL game

The Helm Newsletter is published weekly for athletes, parents, and coaches navigating the modern student-athlete sports landscape. Have a topic suggestion or question? Reach out to us at [email protected]

Disclaimer: NIL Navigator provides general information and education, not legal advice. For legal matters, please consult a qualified attorney.

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