Provo-Based Company Signs NIL Deal With All BYU Female Student Athletes
Sep 21, 2021, 3:16 PM
#11 seed BYU defeated #6 seed Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. BYU won the game by the score of 69-66 in the upset at Strahan Arena on the campus of Texas State in San Marcos, Texas. (Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
(Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – The name, image, and likeness space for BYU athletics continues to boom. One month after BYU football captured national attention for its team-wide sponsorship deal with Built Bar, a Provo-based company is doing something similar for all BYU female student-athletes.
The excitement was palpable this morning when CEO @jonathan_oliver announced the NIL opportunities to #BYU female student-athletes!
Check out the press release here: https://t.co/6oBLWSIDIt#SmartyAthlete pic.twitter.com/TqzmjDMlSz
— SmartyStreets (@smartystreets) September 21, 2021
SmartyStreets announced that they have entered NIL agreements with every female student-athlete in BYU’s athletic department. The deal could surpass $2,000,000 in benefits paid to the athletes, according to a press release from the company.
SmartyStreets is a tech company that focuses on location data intelligence. Jonathan Oliver, a BYU graduate and currently the Founder and CEO of SmartyStreets, announced the historic deal to all 300-plus female BYU athletics student-athletes at the Provo Marriott Conference Center.
“The dedication, commitment and hard work of these strong female athletes is often not as visible,” said Oliver. “We are excited to provide an additional spotlight on these athletes to create opportunities for them to build their personal and professional brands.”
Under the NIL agreement, each female student-athlete will be compensated up to $6,000 for sharing about SmartyStreets on their social media accounts and participating in various company events and activities. Along with NIL agreements, SmartyStreets is also donating facility and equipment upgrades to the female athletes at BYU.
This agreement between BYU female athletes and SmartyStreets is the first NIL agreement since the amateurism rules against compensation went into effect on July 1 that spans each female student-athlete in an athletic department.
“We are happy to see SmartyStreets take the lead in supporting the success of these incredible student-athletes, ” said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe.
Last year, BYU’s athletic department finished 17th in the final Learfield Cup Standings. The highest finish for the BYU athletic department since 2001. BYU women’s teams played a big part in that final ranking.
The women’s volleyball, basketball, soccer, and softball teams participated in their respective NCAA Tournaments. In addition, BYU women’s cross country won the 2021 NCAA Cross Country National Championship, the fifth national title in program history.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
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