As of January 19, the popular social media app TikTok is banned in the U.S. Now, thousands of NIL-earning NCAA athletes will be looking for other outlets to earn their income.
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As of January 19, the popular social media app TikTok is banned in the U.S. Now, thousands of NIL-earning NCAA athletes will be looking for other outlets to earn their income.
Some of the student-athletes with large TikTok platforms included Olivia Dunne, a gymnast at LSU with over seven million followers and Haley and Hanna Cavinder, basketball players at the University of Miami with over four million followers.
According to Sportico, “They and other athletes use the video-sharing app to generate NIL earnings, sometimes reaching six or even seven figures.”
The app was filled with influencers and content creators pushing their favorite products to their audience, including college athletes promoting the brands and businesses that support them through NIL. According to Conduct Detrimental, TikTok “accounts for as much as 80% of college athlete earnings from their name, image and likeness rights.” Especially for the college athletes without the ‘big name’ deals, TikTok was essential.
The push to ban the app came from the federal government after concerns regarding the app’s Chinese parent company could not be resolved. While there are other social media platforms that support similar content, it will take time to know where TikTok’s disbanded audience has landed.
For example, college football’s Travis Hunter boasted nearly two million followers on TikTok, but his X (formerly Twitter) account has only 280 followers. Many student-athletes will face similar challenges as they rebuild their audiences to continue earning NIL funds.
Conduct Detrimental’s reporting continued, “It’s the smaller figures, though -- those that play non-revenue-generating sports, those with small following, and those in smaller programs -- that would suffer tremendous setbacks from this ban, both financially and visibility-wise.”
The primary user group on TikTok, 18-34-year-olds, was also the age group of first college athletes eligible to earn compensation through NIL. It is estimated that the app reached 825 million adults, now on the search for the next digital town square to watch content and earn an income.
