NIL marketing scales to $1.67B as Hollister, adidas court Gen Z via college athletes
The athlete influencer economy has moved from experiment to infrastructure. NIL partnership spend hit $1.67B in 2024-25 and is projected to reach $2.8B by 2026-27, with apparel brands including Hollister, adidas and Postgame building structured college-athlete programs to reach Gen Z consumers.
Athlete influencer marketing is scaling rapidly via NIL deals, with apparel brands like Hollister and adidas leveraging college athletes. NIL partnership market hit $1.67B in 2024-25, projected to reach $2.8B by 2026-27, targeting Gen Z.