Gophers launch NIL Marketplace

The University of Minnesota has officially launched support for student-athlete name, image and likeness activities.

Wednesday, the athletic department announced that Minnesota NIL Marketplace is active, offering a safe and easy way to form NIL agreements and send payments.

The university says the marketplace allows student-athletes to control the services and rates they offer for different NIL deals.

The program notes that all U of M athletes are able to opt in and participate in the marketplace.

“Minnesota student-athletes have benefited greatly from NIL and will continue to do so in the future,” Director of Athletics Mark Coyle said. “The Marketplace will help streamline requests and provide efficient and direct channels of communication to our student-athletes as they continue to partner with businesses and fans.”

Fans, businesses and other groups can also search the marketplace database to start discussions about an NIL transaction. Fans can also learn more online.

The university-associated Dinkytown Athletes NIL collective is also a way to support athletes and has been active since August.

“Dinkytown Athletes has been terrific for our student-athletes,” Coyle said. “They are growing by the day and are dedicated to supporting Gopher student-athletes through NIL engagement. I encourage all our fans to visit their website and look at the numerous ways they can support all of our student-athletes.”