Many college students today have heard of NIL Club, an app that has quickly gained popularity. Often, people discover NIL Clubs through social media posts from friends, on the practice field, or in text messages asking them to help build a fan base for the athlete’s newly formed NIL Club. The app has surged in popularity, and the company has recently been recognized as one of the most reliable platforms for college athletes to oversee their NIL activities.
With the recent expansion of NIL opportunities, students have sought easy-to-use, dependable methods to communicate with fans and create income streams without managing complex sponsorship deals. NIL Club was created to address this need. Unlike traditional athletic performance-based ranking systems, NIL Club creates a platform for student-athletes to generate revenue through content posting and community-building within their teams’ networks.
Additionally, NIL Club aligns with the NCAA’s upcoming regulations regarding NIL agreements. According to the NCAA NIL Agreement Reporting Requirements, all NIL agreements greater than $600 will be required to report to a national clearinghouse beginning June 2025, to verify that payments were made for NIL-related activity. Because NIL Club is built on content generation, the platform meets the NCAA’s requirements and provides its users with tools to properly document their NIL activity reporting.
How NIL Club Works.
NIL Club allows college students and certain high school students to create team-based pages called clubs. These clubs offer behind-the-scenes updates, short videos, photos, and messages that supporters can view through a monthly subscription. Club members choose what and when to post, and they share equal ownership of the club. Every participating member of the club receives an equal share of the revenue earned from subscriptions.
Operating the platform is YOKE, a software company that processes payments, distributes revenue, hosts content, and provides compliance capabilities.
Joining a Club and Posting Content.
Players find their team in the app and either join an existing club or create one of their own. Players post their content within the club, although the platform does not require daily updates. Most teams update weekly. Players typically post routine pictures of everyday life, training or rehearsal messages, or small moments that let supporters get a closer look at the team.
Subscribers pay to view this content. The platform processes subscriptions directly and automatically distributes earnings equally among all verified team members.
Why Supporters Use NIL Club?
Supporters subscribe to get direct access to updates from the teams they follow. The model differs from traditional donations or booster contributions. Subscribers receive exclusive content, while students receive predictable earnings. Most supporters understand that content is occasional and informal rather than highly produced.
Impact on Athletes and Student Groups.
Higher-profile athletes have historically had the most NIL opportunities, while those in smaller sports or less visible roles have had far fewer. The NIL Club model provides an opportunity for entire teams to participate in the same way, regardless of size, sport, or level of visibility.
Introduction of Brand Deals.
In August 2025, NIL Club added a new feature called brand deals. This feature allows student-athletes to view sponsored opportunities directly in the app. These deals are simple and can involve things like mentioning a product, sharing a lifestyle post, or creating a short promotional message.
After the feature launched on August 19, 2025, more than 50,000 students completed at least one brand deal, and the campaigns generated over 100,000 verified actions, such as clicks or sales, in the first 90 days.
Brands Using the Platform.
A number of well-known national brands participate with NIL Clubs through the brand deals feature. Examples as of late 2025 include SoFi, LoveShackFancy, Amazon, Acorns, Revolut, Gatorade, Ulta Beauty, Coinbase, and many more.
These campaigns tend to focus on large numbers of student creators rather than on a small number of high-profile athletes.
Is NIL Club Considered Legitimate?
During early adoption, several school districts incorrectly referred to NIL Club as donor-funded collectives, which operate on a completely different model. NIL Club is based on content creation and equal revenue distribution. Tens of thousands of college students have used it to manage subscription-based content and participate in approved brand deals. The platform’s structure aligns with NIL rules that emphasize separation from institutional involvement.
High School Participation and State-Level Restrictions.
High school participation is more complicated because each state regulates NIL differently. Some states allow high school NIL activity as long as schools do not participate. Others, such as Nevada and Florida, prohibit athletes from earning money connected to athletics while representing their school.
These differing rules have led to warnings from certain school districts. In states where high school NIL is restricted, NIL-related messages may be flagged out of caution. NIL Club reviews each state’s rules before allowing students to participate, and those in states with prohibitions are placed on waitlists.
Concerns Raised Online.
Some online commentary has focused on the app’s contact-invite feature, which allows verified college athletes to send subscription invitations through text message. In several districts, parents, coaches, and school administrators flagged these texts as a potential scam, largely because high school athletes in those states were not permitted to earn NIL income. Several districts posted warnings on their social media pages to alert families. As more information circulated, it became clear that many concerns combined unrelated spam texts with legitimate messages sent through NIL Club by verified college athletes.
According to information published on the NIL Club website, only verified college athletes can send messages through the app. The app does not use automated messaging. Instead, the athlete selects each contact and presses send. The app sends messages only to the phone numbers selected and does not access email accounts or collect additional information. Messages are sent through a short-code number to protect the athlete’s personal phone number. Recipients can reply STOP to opt out of future messages. NIL Club does not request banking information, passwords, or sensitive data. Each message contains the athlete’s name, a brief description, and a link to the public NIL Club page.
Redditors discussing the issues cite misunderstandings stemming from unrelated NIL scams, schools issuing general cautions, and confusion about short-code messaging systems.
The athlete is shown their contact list only when choosing the ‘Invite Supporters’ option. The athlete must grant permission to access contacts before the list appears. Athletes may allow access to contacts stored on their device or manually enter numbers. The app does not access an athlete’s email account or notes.
Based on the app store description, sending a message requires the athlete to choose contacts, edit the message if they wish, and press send. The platform does not contact anyone outside the athlete’s chosen list. Short codes provide a secure channel, keep the athlete’s phone number private, and prevent replies from going directly to the athlete’s device. When a recipient replies STOP, the number is removed from all future messages sent through the platform.
Complexity Surrounding NIL State Laws and Evolving Regulations.
Significant progress has been made toward federal NIL legislation, but as of the end of 2025, no national NIL law has been passed. Athletes and platforms currently operate under a combination of state NIL laws, school policies, and NCAA regulations. The NCAA’s upcoming reporting requirement is one of the first steps toward establishing a universal NIL policy.
NIL Club operates in this changing environment by focusing on content-based activity and providing evolving compliance tools.
How Students Join NIL Club?
Students can participate by visiting nilclub.com or downloading the app. They search for their team, join the club, and begin posting content. Students have access to an FAQ section, examples from other teams, and guidelines on posting expectations and compliance rules, which vary depending on state regulations.
The Role of NIL Club Moving Forward.
NIL Club has a unique space within the NIL ecosystem. The platform allows teams and brands to enter into subscription agreements for sponsored content without university involvement and without tying payments to athletic performance. Its equal distribution model, focus on manual content posting, and transparent processes align with current and future NIL regulations. As rules continue to evolve, NIL Club will remain one of many ways for athletes to participate in NIL in a structured and compliant manner.