Even before she signed her name, image and likeness deal, Georgia Tech freshman guard Kara Dunn had been thinking about trying to build her brand. One way, obviously, is through what she is doing on the court for the Yellow Jackets – earning a spot in the starting lineup in her first year on campus. Her NIL deal with an Atlanta-based digital marketing platform is another.
Upon agreeing to the deal, “I immediately called my parents and I was like, ‘Mom, Dad, I think I got a new NIL deal,’” Dunn said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They were really proud of me, and so I just want to keep growing from there.”
On Monday, Dunn and three teammates – Kayla Blackshear, Tonie Morgan and Cameron Swartz – launched personalized websites created by iFolio, a tech firm whose founder and CEO is a Tech graduate and a loyal Jackets supporter.
“If we can help to build their brand and teach them about how to speak to what is iFolio, that is a business value for us,” Jean Marie Richardson told the AJC. “I’m excited about it.”
The signing of the four Jackets athletes may be only the start and could branch out to other sports. When the four visited iFolio’s Buckhead office last week for a tour and presentation, among others taking part (besides coach Nell Fortner) was volleyball coach Michelle Collier.
“We’d like to have a much broader program before the season starts next year,” Richardson said.
The four will be paid $1,000 each and will have the use of the personal websites designed by the iFolio creative team for four years, valued at $4,000. The significance of her players getting a slice of the NIL pie was not lost on Fortner. Since NCAA rules opened the door for athletes to be paid for their NIL rights in 2021, the vast majority of NIL money has gone to football and men’s basketball players, with women’s basketball third.
“I’m sure you’ve heard this before,” Fortner said. “When women start owning more and they start becoming the CEOs and making decisions on where we’re spending our marketing money, then good things happen for women. So that’s something I’m really excited about for our kids.”
While not on the same scale as football and men’s basketball, NIL collectives have made an impact in women’s basketball. Entire teams at South Carolina, Florida, Texas Tech and Oklahoma have entered into NIL deals. The defending national champion Gamecocks’ deal with a South Carolina collective reportedly was worth $25,000 per player. Florida’s was a reported $1,000 per player. A collective supported by Jackets boosters, the Tech Way, signed Blackshear, Dunn and Morgan.
The genesis of the partnership with iFolio was a meeting between Richardson and Fortner over the holidays. Richardson said Fortner told her that the team needed NIL deals to help with recruiting. While NIL deals are not permitted by NCAA rules as a recruiting inducement, college coaches can tell recruits about NIL opportunities that team members have. Richardson’s investment in Tech runs deep. Beyond holding season tickets for both basketball teams and the volleyball team, she is a donor to the athletic department and a board member for the Alexander-Tharpe Fund. She has a seat on school President Ángel Cabrera’s advisory board.
“I wanted to help out,” Richardson said. “And so I just had to find a way that it makes business sense for us.”
Richardson’s company builds marketing websites and provides a platform and creative services for more than 5,000 clients, including the Falcons, Atlanta United, Tech, Madison Square Garden and Equifax. Another part of the business is its creation of websites for high school students trying to stand out in admissions and recruiting.
This is the 7-year-old company’s first venture into NIL deals, as it sees a business possibility in building marketing websites for athletes.
“We’re excited,” Richardson said. “We have thousands on the (iFolio) platform that are using it, so it’s not at all a stretch to think that this could be as effective as anything for word of mouth.”
Whether they’re trying to advance their playing careers, seek out internships or other NIL deals, the iFolio page has the potential to tell more than statistics or a bio on a team website, selfies on social media or work history on LinkedIn. It can include videos, photos and graphics. In return, players will make social media posts touting iFolio and include links to their websites in their social media bios.
“This is what NIL was meant to be,” Fortner said. “She’s going to get value from it, and they’re going to get value from it, and that’s what it’s about.”
Blackshear, an aspiring entrepreneur, now has a partnership with a prominent Tech alumna as well as extra money to save for a car.
“It’s amazing for me because, one, she’s a woman, she has her own company, so that’s always really big and amazing,” Blackshear said. “Just to have a little money in your pocket, that’s always great. And just to be a part of something that can grow you as a person as a player and help me get to my dreams after college, it’s always good.”
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