The changes that went into effect July 1 allowing for college student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL) created shockwaves that are still being felt and will impact generations to come.
As we near the one-year anniversary of that date and pack our bags for the first-ever NIL Summit (hopefully to collect our Brand of the Year award!), we're revealing BreakingT's 10 best-selling shirts from Year 1 of the NIL era.
But first, a few fun stats:
- BreakingT has partnered with 150+ student-athletes on NIL merch
- BreakingT has released 200+ different pieces of NIL merch
- BreakingT has generated nearly $1 million in NIL sales
And that's just the start. As more schools offer co-branded opportunities and group licenses continue to emerge, the NIL business is poised to take a giant step forward in Year 2.
Fall '21 and spring '22 will always hold a special place, though, as the year that NIL broke.
These are our 10 best-selling shirts from the 12 months that were, each officially licensed by the trailblazing student-athletes that inspired them:
- UNC Basketball: Love & RJ & Leaky & Manek & Bacot
- Oklahoma Softball: Jocelyn Alo Home Run Queen
- UNC Basketball: The Iron 5
- Cassidy Cerny: The Cheerleader Saves the Day
- Pitt Football: Kenny Pickett 8
- UNC Basketball: Armando Bacot and Caleb Love Frame It
- UNC Basketball: Caleb Love Nothing But Love
- Alabama: John Metchie Celebration
- Bo Nix: Focused and Having Fun
- D.J. Graham: The Pick
To see BreakingT's full NIL collection, updated daily with new releases, visit BreakingT.com/NIL.
And to learn more about BreakingT's Real-Time Athlete Merchandising Program, email ramp@breakingt.com.