“Money Always Follows When You Do The Right Thing”: Tim Tebow and Influencers Offer NIL Advice

Star athletes, broadcasters and influencers mixed and mingled at ESPN and CFP’s Allstate Party at the Playoff ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Los Angeles, Calif. Celebrating the end of an exciting college football season, guests, including National Champion Tim Tebow, shared advice for how college athletes on how to maximize NIL and endorsement opportunities.

“Just like anything, NIL is how you use it,” Tim Tebow told RULING SPORTS. Tebow explained that college athletes should use endorsements for good, as influencers have demonstrated that ethical behavior can be a key to successfully securing endorsements.

In signing endorsement deals, companies seek individuals representing their values. When an individual signs an endorsement deal they become an extension of the company’s marketing department. The behavior of an influencer–ethical or not–reflects a company’s image.

Creator Janette Ok, who boasts 1.7 million followers on TikTok, has secured impactful endorsements by using her platform to promote important causes. Ok routinely turns to social media to advocate for the wellbeing of Asian Americans and immigrant children. This advocacy helped her land a deal with McDonald’s promoting the McDonald’s Asian Pacific Americans community program. From her experience, Ok has important advice for the mindset creators should adopt to secure impactful endorsement deals.

“Money always follows when you do the right thing,” she told RULING SPORTS. “When you have morals and values, people stand behind that person.”

Former college basketball player, Carson Roney, has used her comedic talent and basketball insights to amass over 5 million followers on TikTok. When it comes to benefiting from NIL, Roney has simple, but proven, advice for athletes to maximize their brands.

“College athletes should stay consistent, post every day and post as much as possible,” she told RULING SPORTS.

While consistently posting content is crucial, college athletes must thinking strategically, proactively and forwardly about the type of content they share.

“Do I want to be that guy who is partying on social media or do I want to be that guy who is making an impact in another way?” asked Mackenzie Dipman, a reality television star and clothing company owner. “Think about what you want to put out in the world and you will get deals.”

As these sport stars and influencers’ endorsements prove, consistently promoting a positive image aligned with doing good is a solid recipe for endorsement success.