Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Seminoles create name, image, likeness program
Florida State has created a new program within its athletics department to help its athletes capitalize on the upcoming name, image and likeness legislation.
Apex is a multitiered program launched by FSU and INFLCR, a content-creation software company that specializes in sports-focused social media. The partnership is intended to help athletes better understand the upcoming NIL legislation that will take effect July 1 in Florida while providing support throughout their FSU playing careers.
“I am extremely proud of the comprehensive nature of the Apex program,” FSU athletics director David Coburn said. “The cornerstone principle from the start of this process was to educate our student-athletes, and education plays a central role in every aspect of Apex.”
The issue of name, image and likeness has been a hotly contested topic not only among NCAA sports but also at the state and federal levels. The debate centers on the ability of college
athletes to receive compensation for the use of their image and likeness.
Six states, including Florida, already passed NIL legislation with 31 others having introduced bills.
The NCAA proposed its own plan for NIL where athletes can receive compensation from third-party endorsements, social media influencing and personal appearances with “guardrails” in place, but nothing has been detailed or finalized.
The FSU program, which was developed through a partnership with the school’s Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, the College of Business and the Academic Center for Excellence, offers two for-credit academic courses that each provide instruction on NIL-related topics.
The more than 500 athletes at FSU will also have access to the INFLCR software, which stores, tracks and delivers photo and video content to the school. Athletes and coaches can then access their own personalized content in real-time through the INFLCR mobile app and can share it on their social media platforms.
Jim Cavale, founder and CEO of INFLCR, told the Orlando Sentinel on May 10, 2020, that the amount of money an athlete stands to make can be directly correlated to the number of followers they have on social media sites.
“I think social media is going to be at the center of this,” Cavale said. “I also think the NCAA, with this current framework, is trying to make it be at the center of this.”
Part of INFLCR’s duties will be to help FSU athletes and coaches build a stronger brand following on their social media sites. Once NIL legislation becomes effective, INFLCR will provide athletes with not just editorial opportunities to share but commercial opportunities with branded content, and offline opportunities as well.
The FSU football program has more than 1.3 million combined followers on platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook — more than any school in the state and second-most in the ACC. The men’s and women’s basketball programs also have the most Twitter followers of any school in the state.
“Apex is structured to allow student-athletes to maximize their NIL potential while in college and help them graduate with less debt, assist their families and prepare for the next chapter in their lives,” Coburn said.
Florida State isn’t the only school trying to embrace the challenges of NIL.
UCF players wore jerseys with their Twitter handles on the backs instead of their last names during Saturday’s spring game.
“We’ve been saying that the future of college football is right here [at UCF],” coach Gus Malzahn said after the game. “This is a new age of personal branding. We’re going to embrace it.”