Dubs/FMI team up to help student-athletes monetize NIL

(Image courtesy Dubs/FMI)

It’s always exciting when powerhouses get together in the sports world.

In this case, though, it’s not a competition but a union as two of the industry leaders in name/image/likeness (NIL) are joining forces. In the latest effort to help college student-athletes capitalize in the NIL game, The Dubs Group has partnered with Fans Meet Idols (FMI).

“At The Dubs Group, we believe NIL is about empowering all student-athletes to own and profit off of their own brand,” said Allie Weber-Miller, founder of The Dubs Group. “We know that student-athletes across all sports and conferences have value, and we are here to help them monetize it.”

The Dubs Group, based in Fort Worth, features an array of custom student-athlete merchandise and fan-centric offerings on an e-commerce platform. The company is a full-service marketing, sales and talent representation agency specializing in the collegiate NIL space.

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The Fans Meet Idols platform, based in Atlanta, allows athletes to select from over 100 offerings to feature in their online storefront, ranging from products, merchandise, digital experiences, Web3 goods and appearance bookings.

The partnership is somewhat reminiscent of an agreement reached earlier this year between FanJolt and the TCU collective Think NIL, which is helping TCU student-athletes to have enhanced interaction with fans to further monetize their NIL. That partnership provides a white-labeled version of FanJolt, a new experimental platform that launched this year, branded specifically with TCU colors and logos.

“The partnership with Fans Meet Idols enables our clients to generate income through fan engagement, which supplements the endorsement deals we cultivate for them,” Weber-Miller said.

Fans can shop each athlete’s storefront by going to App.FansMeetIdols.com and searching The Dubs Group.

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FMI CEO and founder Steve Kennedy said the union is a good thing because, “A student-athlete can generate NIL income from both endorsement deals and fan monetization while the partnership handles the heavy lifting and insures compliance.”

Weber-Miller added that the partnership allows student-athletes to diversify their potential revenue streams, reaching fans as well as traditional brand partnerships.

As for how this arrangement benefits the fans, Kennedy noted they benefit from being able to find what they want to order from a student-athlete through a single storefront. Schools benefit from reliable reporting of orders for compliance with NCAA regulations.

“The ruling allows fans to participate in this marketplace now, and so the partnership provides a structured way for fans to do that with our roster of Dubs student-athletes,” Weber-Miller said.

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Weber-Miller stressed that it will not only be student-athletes at the larger schools and in the larger conferences that benefit greatly from this merger.

“The Dubs Group is uniquely qualified to deal with the emerging NIL space with over 35 years of sports marketing expertise enhanced by relevant technology application. This distinct mix delivers value for our client roster regardless of sport or conference,” she said.

“We know the dedication student-athletes put in to be successful on the field and in the classroom. We are committed to helping them monetize that hard work.”