Michigan Athletics partners with INFLCR to expand NIL program

The University of Michigan Athletic Department announced Wednesday morning it has partnered with INFLCR (pronounced “Influencer”) to launch the Victors Local Exchange program. Its intent is to grow opportunities for student-athletes in its Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) program.

“We are thrilled to partner with INFLCR as part of our comprehensive and unique Name, Image and Likeness program here at the University of Michigan,” said Kurt Svoboda, U-M’s Associate Athletic Director/Spokesperson. “Our student-athletes have already engaged with a wide array of partnership opportunities in the first six months of NIL, and this addition to our program will more easily allow us to onboard additional businesses.”

INFLCR has partnered with 3,500+ teams and 70,000+ athletes on its app. The app acts as a match-maker between student-athletes and businesses and organizations who are trying to find sponsorship opportunities. A business creates an opportunity on the app outlining what type of sponsorship they’re looking for, how many followers they want the student-athletes to have, and many more details. The student-athletes then can search through the opportunities and find one that’s right for them.

The goal of Michigan’s partnership with INFLCR is to create an easy pathway for student-athletes to land these NIL deals and grow the number of opportunities put in front of them. The Victors Local Exchange will handle all contracts and transactions, taking the headache of the legal side out of the student-athletes’ hands. The student-athletes will also be provided with data analytics to measure their success in NIL and help to grow their brand.

“The VICTORS Local Exchange ties together the University of Michigan’s entire NIL strategy in one system,” said Jim Cavale, Founder and President of INFLCR. “We’re beyond excited to partner with Michigan and help empower their student-athletes with our core technology to help them build their brands as well as our NIL solutions to help them capitalize on those efforts.”

Many have criticized Michigan in its lack of initiative with NIL programs. This partnership will launch Michigan forward and should help with recruiting in all sports. With the brand they have, deals like this one will keep the Michigan Wolverines at the top of college athletics.