INFLCR and Meta partner to empower college athletes through education, NIL strategy
Technology giant Meta is expanding its name, image and likeness efforts in college athletics through a new partnership with Teamworks-owned platform, INFLCR.
INFLCR has announced a partnership with Meta to bring social media education and direct account support to student-athletes via INFCLR, the leading content and compliance software platform for elite athletics, preparing student-athletes for the NIL era.
The alliance will help student-athletes enhance their brand and name, image and likeness (NIL) earning potential across Meta’s platforms, including Instagram and Facebook. INFLCR and Meta will deliver in-person educational workshops to student-athletes, coaches, athletics administrators, and creatives focused on Facebook and Instagram safety and wellness, content strategy and cadence, and monetisation. Additionally, the workshop will provide an overview of Facebook and Instagram verification requirements.
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, will provide social media support and education to college athletes – who are overwhelmingly using social platforms in NIL deals – through INFLCR, who will provide college athletes with insights on their value to brands.
The goal of the three-year partnership is to help athletes maximise their NIL earning potential across Meta’s platforms, in particular, through educational programming.
The deal marks Meta’s most expansive NIL effort to date. When athletes were first granted the ability to monetise their rights in 2021, the company created a marketing-focused NIL curriculum around leveraging its technology and platforms in NIL with the hopes of engaging early adopters. The goal now is scale.
“We believe our technologies level the playing field for student-athletes and give everyone the same opportunity to monetise their name, image and likeness – no matter what sport they play or conference they’re in,” said Dev Sethi, Meta Emerging Athletes and Sports Creators Lead. “But the playing field is only level if athletes have equal access to information. And that’s why we’re so excited about this partnership with INFLCR, as it will help us bring Instagram and Facebook best practices to countless student-athletes across the country.”
Meta can also encourage the use of new monetisation tools it creates among the hundreds of college athletes it now has access to – teaching athletes how Instagram’s shopping features can be integrated into NIL endorsement deals, for example.
The company has already began using college athletes in its product trials, tapping UCLA gymnast Jordan Chiles and Oregon basketball star Sedona Prince as part of a small group of creators selected to test the initial launch of Instagram subscriptions.
Sethi said Meta views college athletes as the next generation of content creators on its platforms – and articulated plans for the continued development of products to meet their specific need and opportunities. He added that Meta will continue to look to involve college athletes in testing future monetisation features.
In-person programming and workshops will be held for athletes and those involved less directly with NIL, such as coaches and athletics administrators. Sessions will cover the verification process, safety and wellness, best practices, monetisation tips, content strategy, cadence and creation as well as monetisation. Additional educational materials will also be available to athletes in the INFLCR app, where Instagram is already linked.
“Our partnership with Meta is a milestone for collegiate athletics,” said Jim Cavale, INFLCR President. “Using technology to increase education about collegiate NIL is crucial. Every student-athlete should have access to the tools they need to maximise their potential.”
“This is all about Meta being able to access the INFLCR user network and provide exclusive education resources to student athletes.”
But Cavale could see the partnership evolving into more. INFLCR currently has a third-party analytics partner that pulls the social data used to track and assess athletes’ fair-market value.
“It’s just an opportunity for student athletes to have custom conversations with Meta about its platforms,” Cavale said in an interview. “And for Meta… they have the ability to have conversations with our student athletes based on different opportunities they want to put in front of them, and there are a lot of opportunities that those platforms can bring.”
Student-athletes can access additional education within the INFLCR app, where Meta experts will share content tips and formats, and pointers on the latest monetisation tools, such as Instagram, Subscriptions, branded content, and shopping features. For collegiate programs interested in continuing student-athlete education, INFLCR will offer in-person workshops through its INFLCR Plus program.
Instagram is already linked within the INFLCR app. Student-athletes can share content directly from INFLCR to Instagram, and view their Instagram account metrics within their INFLCR profile.
About INFLCR
INFLCR, a Teamworks company, is the leading content and compliance platform for elite athletic programs, educating and preparing staff and athletes for the NIL era, all powered by best-in-class content delivery via mobile app. INFLCR works with more than 3,500 collegiate and professional sports teams with a network of over 70,000 active athlete users. INFLCR enhances the athlete experience with a comprehensive solution for responsible brand-building on social media, as well as a fully compliant path to external commercial activity from NIL.
For more information, visit www.inflcr.com