Opendorse backs MSU Athletes

The Minnesota State University Mavericks are proud to announce a brand-new sponsorship to the athletics program. Opendorse has become the official NIL sponsor of Maverick athletics and athletes.

One of the more talked about topics in collegiate sports for the longest time has allowing students to be paid and market their likeness to companies. While student athletes put their bodies on the line for nothing, both schools and leagues are making money off the success of the programs and play from the events. 

In June 2021 several states passed Name, Image, Likeness Laws (NIL) which granted students the ability to make money from third parties and publicly promote themselves. As a result, both schools and leagues are lifting a lot of the bans the have on students’ athletes making money. 

 The big factor in all of this is how much of an impact that this has on student athletes. They are the ones who are reaping the rewards of all the hard work they have done. Andrew Miller, freshman goaltender said that the agreement has been beneficial not only for himself, but for several student athletes.

“I was excited about it, I always thought it was interesting that we couldn’t do stuff like this. In the past we worked so hard as kids to get this level and could only get paid through scholarships. Now we can do these agreements and make money of our name and likeness. Especially since I have known people who have worked incredibly hard to get to this level and now can make what they are worth,” said Miller.

One of the ways that will help students in navigation NIL is currently the newest sponsor of the MSU Mavericks. Opendorse is a site that has become one of the most popular sites for student athletes to market and promote themselves. Once they create their own profile, they can set specific prices for appearances, autographs, and even be recommended business deals. 

Currently they are partnered with several different colleges from the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, and other big-name universities. Now they are starting to expand to lesser-known schools like Pacific Lutheran, Saint Thomas, and of course MSU. Miller said that he has been blown away with how involved that they have been since they agreed to sponsor them.

“Last year they came to us and have been an absolute trailblazer for us. They have helped us with every single aspect of the process of finding the deals. It also is nice because the student athletes get 100% of the profit. We have been absolutely blown away about what they have been doing for us and look forward to this partnership,” said Miller.

Write to Charlie Groebner at Charles.Groebner@mnsu.edu