Nowadays, it seems like every month there’s a new breaking college news story with something relating to NIL, whether that be teams getting new funding, players joining a school because of an NIL deal or players leaving because of an NIL deal.
Nico Iamaleava broke news with his departure from the University of Tennessee after not receiving enough NIL money and transferring to UCLA. Ex-Georgia quarterback Carson Beck left to go to the University of Miami.
Ames, Iowa, obviously doesn’t have the pull of those previous schools. A relatively small town in the center of Iowa likely won’t bring in the national recognition of Los Angeles or Miami, but that doesn’t mean that Ames doesn’t have any hope in the NIL regard.
Iowa State’s athletic fanbase is tight-knit and close like a family, so NIL deals from fan donations are greater. The We Will Collective is a fan donation program that helps support Cyclone student athletes and gives them endorsement deals and community partnerships.
The We Will Collective also collaborates with local businesses, meaning that promotions for companies in Ames become easier with ease of access to Cyclone athletes.
It’s not rare to be scrolling on social media and to see a local restaurant posting about an Iowa State sports player at one of their restaurants or promoting one of them.
Another factor that could be crucial to some recruits could be something that doesn’t have to do with NIL. Cyclone athletics are known to have a family-like team culture, which, to some recruits and college athletes, means more than a hefty paycheck.
There are still some disadvantages, though. Like I stated earlier, Ames isn’t the largest city. A small market means fewer NIL donations, which means a smaller NIL fund.
Compared to some larger schools that have millions upon millions of fans, that donation pool is larger. With that also comes programs that get incredibly large donations from single donors, whether that be the nearly $5 million single donation to Nebraska volleyball’s NIL fund in 2023 or Houston basketball’s $1 million donation to its basketball program.
Another problem for Iowa State is simply a lack of major corporations in Iowa, which then directly means fewer high-dollar deals for Cyclone athletes.
An example of this came in April last year, when FedEx, the shipping company based out of Memphis, donated 25 million dollars across five years to the University of Memphis’ NIL programs. This allowed Memphis, a team in a smaller conference, the ability to have pull with athletes because of the fact that it’s in a larger market.
Now NIL isn’t just about money, it’s about advertising for large companies and connection with the local community. Cyclone fans are doing that as well. The We Will Collective compensates athletes for their hard work and also provides fans with the mindset that they’re helping build a team and making Cyclone athletics better and better.
As the We Will Collective grows, Cyclone sports will grow. If Cyclone fans continue to provide, the athletics will continue to grow greater and greater and will shine despite the fact that maybe Ames, Iowa, isn’t the largest city in the world.
