March Madness is back! Financial advisors discuss how clients can navigate their NIL deals

March Madness may be fun for all the fans at home filling in their brackets and supporting their alma maters. But for the college athletes showing their basketball skills it’s their time to shine – and it doesn't last long.

A breakout performance over those few games can result in a major NIL deal, creating sudden financial decisions for these star athletes. And on the flip side, a disappointing tournament might lower their future earnings expectations.

So how do advisors with deep experience working with athletes help their clients navigate NIL, endorsement deals and the other opportunities that can come from viral moments during the tournament?

According to Joe McLean, managing partner of sports & entertainment at MAI Capital Management, the key message is that this tournament is one of the biggest personal branding moments of their lives. In his view, the athletes who maximize their NIL opportunity are almost always the ones who act like great teammates and serious student-athletes first. That’s what brands, coaches, and the businesses behind future opportunities respect.

“Why this matters for NIL is that brands want athletes who represent leadership, culture, and trust, not just scoring highlights. In practice, this shows up as teammates publicly celebrating one another, giving credit in interviews, being the player coaches and teammates trust most, and showing leadership when you think nobody is watching—in timeouts, huddles, and postgame,” McLean said.

Emphasized McLean: “Being known as the ultimate teammate often becomes more valuable than one big performance in a game.”

McLean also advises clients to “build their story, not just their stats.”

The athlete’s story and character often create more NIL opportunities than a stat line, according to McLean. What fans and brands notice is how players carry themselves after wins and losses, how disciplined and prepared they are, humility in interviews, and their connection to school, family, and community.

“That’s why smart players in the NIL era do things like share authentic moments on social media and tell the story of their journey. Being transparent on things like work ethic, adversity and growth helps athletes win long-term NIL opportunities and build a narrative people want to follow,” McLean said.

Another, often overlooked, item, says McLean, is that the players who become powerful brands are still seen first as serious student-athletes. This helps build trust with the university they represent, allows sponsors to feel safe partnering with them, and builds a more attractive and balanced story that makes media want to highlight them. 

The combination of taking academics and athletics seriously builds credibility and lays the foundation for brands that have staying power. The tournament might last three weeks, but a player’s reputation lasts their entire career.

NIL partnerships are not bets on athletic performance, they’re bets on behavior, judgement, and consistency, says McLean. These deals are fundamentally a business partnership between the contracting brand and the student-athlete’s brand, which is why predictability and trust are so important in his opinion.

“One viral moment can create opportunities. Several viral moments can create many opportunities. But one poor decision can erase the critical trust element and erase any future opportunities,” McLean said.

Meanwhile, Aaron Wiegman, wealth manager at Savvy Advisors, says a common misstep student-athletes make is failing to realize that NIL effectively makes you a small-business owner overnight. NIL might feel like found money, but it's self-employment income with real tax bills attached. If an athlete spends without planning, they may face a big surprise in April, according to Wiegman.

“Most NIL deals aren't grabbing the headlines. They tend to be smaller, short-term checks. The mistake is spending it all on lifestyle instead of using that window to build a cushion, save for grad school or invest. A couple of years of Roth contributions can really pay off over time,” Wiegman said.  

Wiegman sees a lot of parallels between athletes with NIL and employees with equity compensation or rapidly growing founders.

“You might think the good times will last, instead of recognizing this as a concentrated, unpredictable opportunity to make the smartest moves you can while it's there,” Wiegman said.