TYLER, Texas — Name, Image and Likeness is a topic that has caused a lot of disruption in the world of sports this past year, but how has it impacted East Texas?
Caleb Eagans, a multisport athlete, made his way to East Texas Baptist University through both Texas A&M, East Central University, and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Through his career among these different universities, he's gained popularity, leading him to receive seven N.I.L. deals.
"My first deal was with Elite Athletic Gear. My second one was with Dairy Queen, that's probably my biggest one. My third one was with Dapp Cuts which is actually here, local in Dallas," explained Eagans. "And then from there, Lifestyle Bands, some recovery performance drinks like Green Plus, and my recent one is called JKRTX, then my last one is Liquid IV."
His career began at Texas A&M, playing with the likes of Myles Garrett and Mike Evans. Back in a time where athletes were penalized for taking anything as small as a free meal.
Eventually landing at ETBU, the first Division 3 school to partner with Opendorse, a company whose goal is to connect student athletes with sponsorships.
“It's really been a huge benefit to our student athletes, for them to be able to use their name, image and likeness to be compensated, see discounts or whatever that looks like for each individual athletes,” said ETBU's Vice President for Student Engagement & Athletics Ryan Irwin.
N.I.L. is a hot topic that first became known to the public in 2019, passed by the state of California. In July of 2021, the NCAA followed suit.
“It's the ability for an amateur athlete to make money off of their name, image and likeness." Tim Prukop said, co-founder of Eccker Sports. "The players are able to maintain their eligibility to play high school or college sports. That's what N.I.L is.”
The concept is filled with nuance, leading the Texas High School Coaches Association to partner with the Austin-based company Eccker Sports to help provide coaches and parents with the education to navigate N.I.L. regulations for recruitment now and as it evolves in the future.
“Everybody's scared of the term and NIL," Prukop said. "You want to push it under the rug or hope that it goes away. Well, it isn't. It's not going away.”
According to Afrotech, about 25% of college athletes have an NIL deal of some kind and Opendorse reports that 60% of all deals involve football players.
When it's compared to Division 3 athletes, the percentage then falls to single digits, making Caleb Eagans one of the first of his kind, paving the way for small school athletes to gain exposure. But Eagans is blazing a trail without his number one fan, his mom, who lost her battle to cancer in just his second year in college, leading him to wonder what she would think of him now.
"I'm not gonna get emotional, but you know, I can't even just imagine it because I just remember sitting there with my mom. I hadn't even graduated A&M. Matter of fact, I was about to drop out of school," said Eagans. "I had like a 2.1 GPA, I was really struggling. And she told me, 'I just want you to graduate from A&M. I just want you to graduate.' Well I did, and from there I received two Masters degrees."
"For me to be in this position now, just like with my football, even my career. I think she'll just be like, wow. I think she would be proud of me but she'll still be pushing me and telling me I can do better," said Eagans.
Nationwide, college athletes are taking advantage of the new regulations. The state of Texas has not yet passed a bill at the high school level. As far as Eagan's advice to young athletes looking to cash in, he says to first pick the right program, then the money will come.
