Joining many other Division I schools, an officially-licensed Maryland NIL store opened for Terps’ student-athletes Wednesday. The store, which is powered by Campus Ink and licensed by the athletic department, will allow athletes to capitalize on numerous NIL opportunities including clothing merchandise.
Campus Ink, which is backed by billionaire Mark Cuban, jumped into the NIL landscape in 2021 by launching the NIL store. Maryland is the sixth Big Ten school to launch its own NIL store, joining Illinois, Penn State, Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan State and Indiana.
The NIL Store’s network also includes LSU, Duke, Virginia Tech, Florida State and UConn, among others.
[Lack of standards makes tracking NIL deals at UMD near impossible]
According to Sean Ellenby, a Maryland NIL marketing and communication manager, over 60 athletes will have merchandise in the store. The group is headlined by men’s basketball’s Donta Scott, baseball’s Jason Savacool and women’s basketball’s Shyanne Sellers. Notable Terps currently without deals include football’s Taulia Tagovailoa and men’s basketball’s Jahmir Young.
While not yet available, the store plans to release individual player jerseys in the future, Ellenby said. A percentage of jersey and merchandise sales will go directly to athletes.
Passed unanimously by the Supreme Court in 2021, NIL allows college athletes to be compensated for their personal brand. Countless athletes have taken advantage since then, engaging in deals with numerous companies to profit through merchandise sales and advertisements.
