Natalia Nelson

Natalia Nelson is a sophomore Journalism major from Chesapeake, Virginia with minors in Spanish and Creative Technologies in Art and Design.



Projects by Natalia Nelson

Marketing and NIL: Who Gets the Brand Deals?

By Natalia Nelson, Kadence Brock and Sidda Benckart 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind (Nov. 5, 2024)

An oar sliced into the dark, chilly water. The lazy sun had barely begun to peek over the Elizabeth River, glinting off the wake that streamed behind Alexis Durand’s boat.

While the boat and oars are paid for by Old Dominion University, Durand is not. Her racing suit, however, was free— given to her in exchange for an Instagram post. The deal wouldn’t have been possible without a landmark Supreme Court case decided three years ago.

The Supreme Court’s name, image, and likeness ruling has fundamentally changed the college athletics landscape. It permits college athletes to profit from their brand image and accept endorsements, which the NCAA previously disallowed. But does it benefit every athlete equally, or does the popularity of the sport determine who gets the brand deals? 

Alexis Durand, a sophomore and D1 Rower for Old Dominion University, flexes in a racing shirt. The shirt is from JL Racing, gifted to her through a social media ambassadorship. Courtesy Alexis Durand, photo by Bella Peycelon.

Galen Clavio, the Director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University, thought that the marketability of each athlete played a role.

“There’s the NIL that comes from just being a good athlete, and ultimately, the idea that you have an intrinsic market value at the college level as an athlete in whatever sport,” Clavio said. “And that value is not equal.”

He went on to add that a men’s golf team member would generally have significantly less market value than a comparable basketball or football player.

“Simply because of the sheer amount of money through television contracts, ticket sales, and other items that come through basketball and football that don’t come through golf,” Clavio said.

Galen Clavio calls on a student during a press conference.
Galen Clavio calls on a student during a press conference in C250 Oct. 15.  As a Professor of Sports Media and the Director of the National Sports Journalism Center at IU, Clavio is an NIL expert. Photo by Emma Pearce.

Ball State D1 golfer Landon “Happy” Gilmore agreed that sports with less media coverage may have to work harder to get deals. He was dubbed the nickname by his coach after winning the “Little People’s Golf Championship” at 6 years old.  Despite being in a smaller (less popular) sport, he’s managed to grab several NIL deals for himself after a tweet about his commitment to Ball State went viral. 

It was retweeted by Adam Sandler, the actor who played the titular role of Happy Gilmore in the 90’s golf comedy, and Gilmore gained national attention.

Landon "Happy" Gilmore crouches by his golf bag in a white polo and red hat.
Freshman Landon “Happy Gilmore” crouches by his bag at the “Put Me In” Coach Invitational in Muncie, IN. Gilmore tied for third in his first college event with a score of 210. Courtesy Landon Gilmore.

“NIL has benefitted me quite a bit,” Gilmore said. “Being able to get clothing and equipment took a load off my parents financially.” 

He said golf at the collegiate level doesn’t come with the same type of viewership as football or basketball. According to Gilmore, lower viewership sports are at a disadvantage when it comes to NIL, but he said it ultimately came down to marketing. 

“NIL is a person-to-person thing. It more or less depends on how popular you are,” Gilmore said.

Like Gilmore, D1 rower for Old Dominion University Alexis Durand thinks it’s still possible for athletes from smaller sports to get brand deals with extra effort.

“I feel like other sports that aren’t as broadcasted definitely have to work harder for deals and actually have to market themselves,” Durand said. “Whereas the sports that do get broadcasted don’t have to market themselves.”

Durand has an ambassadorship with a rowing apparel company called JL Racing. She said she applied online for the program last summer and was accepted because she posts consistently on social media. Her Instagram profile is followed by over 700 users.

Through the ambassadorship, Durand said she was able to receive free racing suits and discount codes if she posted pictures in the suits to her Instagram. 

“I do know a few people who didn’t get into [the ambassador program] this year because they don’t post as much on their social media,” Durand said. “And you also obviously have to be an active rower or coach.”

She said that a few of the other girls on her team were able to get similar brand deals with smaller clothing companies if they had a social media presence. 

Cooper Jones, clad in a red football jersey with the numbers 78, poses in front of the camera.
Cooper Jones stares down at the camera. He’s an offensive lineman for the Indiana University football team, which has gone 9-0 during the 2024-25 season. Courtesy Cooper Jones.

Her experience differs from that of Cooper Jones. He’s an offensive lineman for Indiana University football and doesn’t pay much attention to his social media or actively seek out NIL deals– but he’s still able to profit off of them.

“A lot of the guys on the team had an opportunity to take part in [the brand deal], and it was through Hoosiers for Good,” Jones said. “We just had to do a couple different social media posts, then once we filled those requirements, we got paid.”

He added that the IU football team also received a 3,000 dollar stipend at the end of each semester for staying academically eligible, a reward which didn’t exist before the NIL ruling. Durand, on the other hand, isn’t on scholarship for rowing.

“I think most important is just as long as the people that are getting paid are working really hard, then at least you know that they’re earning what they got,” Jones said. 

It was the eve of Homecoming Weekend, and Indiana University’s campus was teeming with sports fans preparing to watch the big game. We asked a diverse group of strangers if they thought the Name, Image, and Likeness ruling benefited all sports equally.

 

Apple Announces Release of Smartwatch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts
Ty Horvath: Writer
tyhorv@iu.edu
Natalia Nelson: Editor
nelsonnb@iu.edu
Deshna Venkatachalam: Photographer
devenkat@iu.edu

CUPERTINO, California [Sept. 9, 2014] — On Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the first Apple Watch, a customizable smartwatch capable of tracking health and fitness, calling and texting, and receiving app notifications.  

Young women uaing smartwatch
Ini Edet, an undergraduate student at Indiana University, utilizes the Apple Watch to call her friend. The Apple Watch can message, call, and communicate with other Apple devices from the user’s wrist.

The Apple Watch was announced to an enthusiastic audience at an event in Cupertino, California, at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts, which also debuted the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Cook left the stage as a video introducing the new smartwatch played, showcasing its innovative features that connect seamlessly with the iPhone. Soon after, Vice President of Apple Kevin Lynch walked on stage and demonstrated the watches’ capabilities. These included Siri and voice recognition, watch face personalization, digital touch communication, and the use of apps like Maps and Facebook. The Watch required an iPhone 5 or higher, which makes it already accessible to 200 million Americans.  

Brian Pearce, a dad of two,  ties his shoes to go on a walk with his family. The Apple Watch lets users know how many steps they have taken and how many calories they have burned and recommends personal fitness plans based on their activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Apple Watch debuted a stunning new feature with the ability to track users’ health and fitness. “An Apple Watch gives us the ability to motivate people to be more active and be more healthy,” Cook said. The activity app on the watch monitors all activity and movement throughout the day, including sensors that will detect heartbeat, steps, and distance traveled through GPS. The app also contains reminders to stand up at least once for 12 hours and allows users to set goals for steps and calories burned.

The app measures calories users have burned and is customized to the user’s body. It will also notify users when they’ve reached their goals for calories burned in a day. The exercise feature will trigger when doing anything more than a brisk walk, and users will receive a notification when they hit the worldwide recommendation of 30 minutes of daily exercise. The stand feature (stand ring) will track how long users stand up to take a break and will also track the time users sit during their days. 

The Apple Watch is also highly personalizable, allowing users to choose different watch faces. The three models set for release in early 2015 include the Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition, with a variety of band colors and materials to match every lifestyle. “Apple Watch is the most personal device we have ever created,” Cook said. The Apple Watch is designed for the user and made to connect with a user on a new, intimate level and embrace individuality. This ranges from the way users can design and arrange the apps on their home screen to being able to customize the way they navigate through third-party apps. 

Apple Watch also includes many third-party apps, among them Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Apple Developers created WatchKit, an app that allows third parties to seamlessly integrate their software into the Apple Watch. This enables them to allow rich, actionable notifications just like one would receive on their iPhone. Users can receive a Twitter notification on the watch, click on it, and find customizable actions such as favoriting, retweeting, and liking, all from the comfort of their wrist. WatchKit also allows users to have and arrange third-party apps on their home screens. “These are just some of the examples of the great apps that are already underway for Apple Watch, that we just can’t wait to see what developers are going to create on this great new platform,” Apple Vice President Kevin Lynch said. 

The Apple Watch is easily navigable using the Digital Crown on the side of the watch, as well as its highly sensitive retina display that can differentiate between a user’s press and tap. Its notification systems allow the use of discreet alerts that can be felt on the wrist. Additional features include Smart Reply, which suggests responses to text messages, and Digital Touch, which allows users to send quick drawings and audio messages to their friends with a few simple taps. The Apple Watch starts at $349 to release in early 2015. It will connect seamlessly with the iPhone 5 and up. 

Kevin Lynch, the project manager for the Apple Watch, describes how the Watchkit app can be used by developers. Watchkit allows apps to be programmed to integrate seamlessly into the Apple Watch.

Jay Blahnik, Apple’s Director of Fitness and Health Technologies, explains the fitness feature of the new Apple Watch. Set to release in early 2015, the Apple Watch can track its user’s heartbeat, body movement, and daily steps.

###