How UNLV athletes are using NIL to build brands beyond college sports

LAS VEGAS — Name, image and likeness has changed college sports in ways that go far beyond sponsorship posts and product photos.

For athletes, NIL has become part of the job description — a new layer of pressure and opportunity that follows them off the field and into everyday life. At UNLV, three athletes described NIL as a long-term play centered on identity, visibility and professional skills, reflecting a broader shift across college athletics.

WATCH| Taylor Rocha talks to college athletes looking to use their NIL to promote their brand

“Yeah, 100%. NIL is super important,” UNLV track and field athlete Angelina Vasquez said. “It’s your name, image and likeness, and it’s very important that you have that to promote yourself… even after you’re done with track and field.”

Vasquez said NIL has created space for athletes in non-revenue sports to shape their own narratives, even when their events don’t get the same exposure as football or basketball.

“Well, first of all, I’m Latina and so that is like my biggest thing and I… promote that as much as I can,” Vasquez said. “Aside from being an athlete — Latina, fun, athletic… beauty, makeup… little things just help me build my brand.”

UNLV football player Darrien Jones said NIL has pushed athletes to embrace being visible — even when it comes with criticism.

“You don’t wanna be seen as corny, but you kind of have to take that on the chin if you want to grow yourself,” Jones said.

Jones said athletes are increasingly central to how brands connect with schools — and how schools project their identity nationwide.

“That’s a lot of the time, the identity of the school wherever you are across the country,” Jones said. “The first thing you think about when you think Ohio State or anything… you think about their sports programs. So in order to kind of grow a brand or spread your brand across the country, you gotta go through the athletes.”

Still, Jones said a misconception persists that NIL is only for star quarterbacks and household names.

“A lot of people have a misconception that you’ve got to be the quarterback, you’ve got to be the one percent to really monetize off of your name, image and likeness,” he said.

That gap is one reason AthleteCon is expanding its footprint. The event, scheduled for June 3–5 in Las Vegas, brings together athletes, brands and industry leaders for hands-on education in content creation, financial literacy and long-term career development.

“There’s pay to play — getting paid for what you do on the field — and then there’s what NIL was actually intended to be,” AthleteCon founder Sam Green said. “Athletes creating value for brands by monetizing off of their own brand.”

For UNLV cross country athlete Autumn Viscardo, that education is about building a future beyond competition.

“I think personally it’s just a great way to set yourself up for life after sports,” Viscardo said. “You’re showing marketing skills and who you are as a person, and you’re setting yourself up for something bigger after school.”

As NIL continues to evolve, the athletes said the lesson is simple: the work doesn’t stop when the game ends.

“You get in what you put in,” Jones said.