Building Bonds Through Name, Image, and Likeness: Organization–Public Relationships in the New Era of College Sports

Abstract

Since the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rule change in 2021, the entire landscape of the athlete marketplace has changed. In the next year, the NIL market is projected to reach $1.67 billion (Opendorse, 2024). With revenue sharing beginning in the 2025 season, the way college athletes are paid is on the threshold of a new era. This new era will see universities and athletic departments depending greatly on support, both financial and other, from their fan base. Grounded in organization-public relationship (OPR) and team identification frameworks, this study positioned NIL partnerships as opportunities for community relations in college football. Using a 2x2x2 experiment, the profit-status and locality of the partnering organization and the type of NIL deal (collective vs commercial) were manipulated. The perception of organization-public relationships (OPR), attitude toward the team, and supportive behavioral intentions were measured to evaluate the impact of different NIL deals. Specific fan identity antecedents were also measured, including the fan’s locality to the team, gender, and alumni status, to explore how each aspect influenced team identification and OPR. Theoretically, the findings explored two overall models. Significant findings related to the nature of NIL deals found that fans perceived partnerships with non-profit organizations and local companies more favorably. In addition, it was found that fans perceived deals organized by collectives differently, meaning that departments must consider fans’ preconceived attitudes toward collectives when developing partnerships. Findings related to the conceptualized model offered additional insight to the connection between OPR, team identification, attitudes, and behaviors. This is the first study of its kind to explore how NIL influences perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors, offering key insight to university administration and practitioners within athletic departments as they manage relationships with various fan communities to financially support athletes.