College Athletes are the next big thing for the Influencer business. On June 28, the NCAA board announced they will allow college athletes to profit off of their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) under new guidelines as a result of a ruling from the Supreme Court. (Alston vs. NCAA)

This change opens the floodgates for college athletes to leverage their already busy social media profiles for a profit by contracting with brands and businesses. Experts estimate athletes working as influencers could earn thousands to hundreds of thousands a year. The policy undoubtedly will bring major changes to NCAA sports, especially revenue-generating sports like football and basketball.

Those who support the new arrangement believe it's only fair and long overdue that college athletes share in the profits their performance generates, and that athletes should be compensated by colleges with free tuition or other bonuses. College sports is known to be a massive revenue generator for many colleges. In 2019, the amount of sports-generated revenue among all athletic departments affiliated with the NCAA totaled $18.9 billion.

While the policy does open NIL activities to student-athletes, it will continue to prohibit pay-for-play and improper inducements to choosing to attend a particular school, according to an NCAA press release. In addition, many states have already introdu