Today is a good day! After design delays, paper supply chain issues and worker shortages at the printer, my new (first!) book is finally here, in the flesh (or the pulp): Athlete Brands: How to Benefit from Your Name, Image & Likeness from Darden Business Publishing.

It feels like ages ago University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Kim Whitler and I wrote this together. However, I’m reminded today seeing this baby come into the world how much I love the work we put into it and the potential the book has to help student-athletes (even those will never go pro or even play high-level college sports) develop personal brands that will open doors and strengthen relationships. Now, the book is in their hands. I hope it serves many of them well!

The Darden School just issued a press release, with more details on the book including how to buy it on Amazon or the Darden Business Publishing website.

College athletes are competing on an entirely new playing field now that they can profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL). NIL can be a great opportunity for athletes, but only if they know how to take advantage of it.

Athlete Brands: How to Benefit from Your Name, Image & Likeness (UVA Darden Business Publishing, 2022), the new book co-authored by University of Virginia Darden School of Business Professor Kimberly Whitler and Jay Hodgkins, helps current and aspiring college athletes create a game plan to get the most out of their NIL. The book is available to order on Amazon and Darden Business Publishing.

The book presents a simple, step-by-step process in which student-athletes in any sport and at any level learn to manage their NIL to best advance their goals. Whitler and Hodgkins adapt proven brand management processes to help athletes:

• Define a vision for success and set goals that you can achieve through sport
• Design your athlete brand to align with your goals
• Activate your brand to create NIL value
• Monetize your brand through goal-aligned channels

“The chance to make money from your name, image and likeness is heady stuff for many young athletes,” said Whitler, a professor of marketing and former chief marketing officer who grew her career as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble. “But if these athletes don’t stop to first think about what they really want to achieve, chasing opportunities to monetize their NIL could detract from their athletic performance, academics and future professional opportunities. They need to design and activate a brand that works for them first, and then choose the right opportunities to monetize their NIL.”

Athlete Brands was developed in partnership with the UVA Athletics Department, but is written for amateur athletes everywhere. It includes examples of how other pro and student-athletes around the world have managed their NIL and are leveraging their brands to advance their careers.

The Darden Report

Read the full press release from the Darden School.