Take a look at how Northeastern student-athletes are turning their talent into life lessons through NIL brand deals.
Written by Anna Rich. Photo Courtesy of NU Athletics.
In July of 2021, over 450 thousand student-athletes’ lives were changed for the better. After years of back-and-forth over the right to profit off their own name, image, and likeness (NIL), the NCAA granted all student-athletes the opportunity to accept a sponsorship from or partnership with almost any company around the world.
Northeastern University, hosting a Division I sports program with 19 teams, jumped headfirst into the pool of benefits resulting from the NCAA’s decision, and athletes who were always taught about the importance of the team finally had the chance to advocate for their own benefit as well.
Maria Armaganian, a second-year field hockey midfielder at Northeastern, is one of many athletes who reaps the benefits of the NIL. Partnering with Treadbands, a custom athletic headbands company, Armaganian began her sponsorship journey in July of 2022 while she was in Virginia Beach at the final round of tryouts for the National Field Hockey team.
“It was kind of a big deal that I was at something held by Team USA,” Armaganian said proudly. “It was unheard of that a Northeastern girl was there, and then also on top of that I was sponsored, too.”
Honored to represent her school and her company, Armaganian reveled in the NIL relationship opportunities that had been available during the entirety of her recruitment process and college career. Like Armaganian, students who have been in college for two years or less had not been college athletes when sponsorships were forbidden by the NCAA.
Upperclassmen, however, struggle to get noticed. With only one or two years left on their teams, they are often overlooked by companies searching for college athletes to promote their products for longer periods of time. Those who have three or four more years of their athletic career ahead of them are the preferred choice.
However, because the process is so new and unfamiliar, it can be difficult for students of all ages to get NIL deals.
“I don’t think they know what’s out there,” said Ravi Masand, an Associate Athletic Director at Northeastern. “And I just want to give them the opportunity to explore it more. But it does take someone wanting to be proactive.”
In an attempt to raise awareness for the new opportunities, Northeastern has implemented short educational sessions at the beginning of each school year that explain the dos and don’ts of NILs to all student-athletes. Masand would love to push for even more ways to bring light to the process.
“It’s the only area where we can help them,” he said. “We can’t get them a deal, but we can educate them on how to do it in the best way possible.”
Additionally, Northeastern has worked hard to make the approval process as seamless and easy as possible: all it takes is one form. While there should not be any challenges to the process of NIL approval, it can still be tough to find available partnership opportunities. Armaganian shared some important advice for student-athletes like herself who are trying to build their own brand:
“If you’re a college athlete who is looking for a sponsorship, always be your own advocate. No one else is going to do it for you.”
There have been so many notable benefits that have come from the recent NIL decision, and NCAA universities want to make those benefits readily available to any and all of their student-athletes.
“It’s really taught them how to build their brand. It gives them good life skills,” Masand said of Northeastern’s participation in NIL deals.
Armaganian also spoke on the benefits of the NIL, giving some insight into the specific influence that her partnership has had on the development of her own life skills.
“The company gave me that opportunity to use my voice and to get comfortable with meeting new people,” Armaganian said.
As a result, Armaganian’s NIL deal has also opened her network to connections that she would not otherwise have access to. The partnership adds another aspect of professionalism to her day-to-day routine, without sacrificing any of the fun.
“I can link with a bunch of people that don’t even go to school at Northeastern,” she said, “and we can relate on a different level to something that they’re also passionate about.”
According to Armaganian, her relationship with Treadbands is more than just a sponsorship; it’s a partnership, a community, and a passion. An industrial engineering major with a graphic design minor, Armaganian has been able to use her education in tandem with her sponsorship.
“It’s my escape,” she said. “It’s a nice way to just step away from everything and do what I’m passionate about.”
Armaganian spends a lot of her free time working with Treadbands to design custom headbands for Northeastern athletes. She has used her sponsorship not only to get discounts for her own team, but to partner with women’s ice hockey and men’s baseball as well.
On any given day, the field hockey players can be seen rocking their matching headbands that show off the team mantra, “RiOT,” which stands for respect, I (taking responsibility for your own actions), ownership, and tenacity. When the athletes wear these headbands, they also wear the beliefs that point toward the broader significance of NIL deals.
These partnerships aren’t just about the marketing relationship between a person and a company; they hold student-athletes to a certain standard as well. When these athletes learn to manage their platforms by using their own voice, they are holding themselves responsible for both their academic and athletic careers. The deals encourage student-athletes to stay on their A-game and remain determined to persevere in all aspects of their lives by taking ownership of their own name, image, and likeness.
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