Nike isn’t done shaking up the college game, and it doesn’t appear as though they will anytime soon. The latest? None other than Aaliyah Butler. The Georgia track and field star and Paris Olympian has been signed to a name, image, and likeness deal. The signing marks Nike’s continued foray into the collegiate sports market. It is a bold gamble that comes with high risks and even higher potential rewards.

But that makes Butler just the second sprinter to sign a Nike NIL deal. She will be joining USC’s Mia Brahe-Pedersen on the active roster. But why is Nike doubling down on collegiate athletes rather than simply waiting for them to turn pro? And what does this say about the future of NIL deals on the track? Well, it is complicated, to say the least.

Nike places high-stakes bet on college athletes

For decades, Nike has been synonymous with elite professional athletes, from Michael Jordan to Serena Williams. But now, the sportswear giant is taking a different approach. They are no longer limiting themselves only to pro and established athletes. Rather, they are securing deals with both college and high school athletes before they even turn pro.

The most recent example is Aaliyah Butler. She made headlines as a Paris Olympian. And now Butler is the latest track and field star to join this fray. This is a very exclusive group of amateur athletes with ludicrous deals and incredible backing. With Butler on board, Nike has already signed other top collegiate runners.

This is a high-risk, high-reward deal in the hands of Nike to invest resources in young and unproven talent. So, by offering these deals early on, they’ve managed to lock in several future stars who may have opted for other companies. With most of the collegiate athletes still raw in talent and several of the prep players yet to enter the collegiate stage of the NCAA, the question remains the same. That is, what if these youngsters fail? What if they are unable to become successful professional athletes?

So while it is lucrative, it is also dangerous. Nike realizes that the next generation of elite athletes is building huge followings due to social media and NIL opportunities. So the company is creating brand loyalty now, setting the stage for future sponsorships when those athletes do go pro.

 Aaliyah Butler’s rise and Nike’s growing NIL roster

Aaliyah Butler isn’t your run-of-the-mill college athlete; she’s much more a prospect. A great sprinter in the UGA Track & Field team, Butler has participated on the very highest platform, the Paris Olympics, and proved there that she certainly has it all in terms of performance and pressure.

Nike isn’t looking at Butler based on some divine potential. No, everything is based on the results. It was her speed, her marketability, and her Olympic experience combined that finally sealed the deal. She is, however, not the only college athlete drawing this level of interest. Other stars on Nike’s ever-expanding roster are names like Ethan Stand, Parker Wolfe, James Corrigan, and LeBron James’s son, Bronny.

These deals will continue to evolve, and Nike’s lead is sure to make many more brands jump in, making college and high school athletes even bigger players in sports marketing. For now, however, Nike remains king, showing the blueprint as to how one should conduct business in this NIL era. And these deals can very well shape the future of sports as we know it.

But for Butler, this deal means another major milestone in gaining resources and exposure to elevate her career further. And with more and more collegiate and even high school athletes proving their worth well before going professional, one thing’s for certain. Nike is all in. When this gamble pays off, though, it puts them way further ahead of any other competition.