“What people with this opinion do not realize is that as athletes we do not have time to work jobs,” Bahl said. “We would have no income without NIL, and in some people’s cases, no one to help them out.”

Aniya Hoggatt, a jumper on the Florida A&M track and field team, also joined H&R Block’s group and saw NIL deals as opportunities for student athletes like herself to get exposure and build a personal brand. While she said she now has income that her responsibilities as a student and athlete wouldn’t have allowed her to earn, she’s seen flaws in the wage gap and the NIL recruitment process that are worth improving.

“More companies need to become aware of their biases when offering certain deals to specific athletes,” Hoggatt said. “They need to evaluate if they are prioritizing certain athletes based on gender, race, or sport and why that is.”

Before Anessa Campos signed an NIL deal with H&R Block, the Cal State Northridge soccer star had already played on the 2022 U.S. Deaf Women’s National Soccer Team that won the Olympic Gold Medal at the Deaflympics in Brazil. She, too, liked the idea of NIL deals rewarding athletes for the work they put into their sport. The reality of NIL deals has been somewhat more limited, as “we do not choose these opportunities; they chose us.” She appreciates how her H&R Block deal offset costs and gave her motivation, but knows the playing field hasn’t quite leveled.

“Unfortunately, because most of these NIL deals are strategically and selectively given, it is not as equitable as it is thought to be,” Campos said. “Many big brands focus on big sports and big names. Not all sports have the same platform or publicity which lowers the opportunities given to some sports as well as women’s sports in general.”