There's a new era in big money college sports thanks to the changes in NCAA rules in compensation for athletes name and likeness usage. If you haven't heard, college athletes at power schools are making Big Paychecks. How much you ask? According to this NYT article "It can cost as much as $10.5 million for a title-contending starting offense and defense in the new Power Four conferences." Eleven players on each side of the ball, we've done the math, it's an average of $477,272 / year / starting player. Good for them! Athletes should be compensated for their performance regardless of professional status.

Keeping on topic..from a real estate perspective, the demographic is younger, more transient and likely to demand newer and modern amenities. Many will be well educated on their housing options guided by their brands, teams and universities, and are well capitalized and qualified on a short term 3-6-12 month basis, and I actually had a client purchase a newer townhome in Tallahassee for lease to a football player at FSU..Keep in mind the top earning NIL athletes stretch across multiple men's and woman's sports.

According to Opendorse:

The collegiate NIL market is projected to grow by more than 40% this year, with an overall estimated market spend of $1.67B
The collegiate NIL market is projected to eclipse the $2B mark in tandem with the highly anticipated revenue sharing slated for the 2025 academic year
In the commercial segment, Women’s Basketball is in the number two spot for total compensation, second only behind Football
By 2025, Top 25 NCAA DI quarterbacks can expect to net more than $1.3M annuallywhen factoring Scholarships & Benefits, Commercial NIL, Collective NIL, and Revenue Share payments
Competitive collective budgets within Power 4 conference are up 50% YoY, amassing to a war chest of $13.9M

What schools have the top NIL Budgets? Read this article for the full top 50 list, but to cut to the chase... THE University of OREGON holds the very top spot, thanks in large part to Phil Knight of Nike. I have been very high on the potential of Eugene for continued and rapid investment growth and opportunity for a variety of reasons, and have likened it to a more affordable Boulder..These very well paid athletes and the entire ecosystem built around them..ie: brands, influencers, media, boosters, coaches, alumni, all need to be accommodated. Eugene is a very small town of around 200k+ people. If there is an additional 250+ athletes and their families annually, those tenants do not have the luxury short term accommodations the market demands.

What do you think? Is college NIL money in athletics a new tenant category that will continue to grow and expand?

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