Degree’s #BreakingLimits NIL Program Offers Diverse Student Athletes Autonomy Over Their Own Image

Unilever’s Degree deodorant brand expanded its #BreakingLimits initiative in September in a bid to further support rising young sports stars assert their own brand.

Just days after the US Supreme Court decided to support college athletes’ abilities to earn income through what has become known as the NCAA’s ‘Name Image Likeness’ (NIL) rule, Unilever’s deodorant and antiperspirant brand Degree launched a first-to-market #BreakingLimits programme which offers young athletes an opportunity to exercise full autonomy over their own image in a meaningful way.

Kicking off with Degree’s diverse roster of 19 student athletes – which includes para swimmers, women’s volleyball stars and wheelchair basketballers such as the University of Cincinnati’s Lawrence Sapp, University of Texas’ Jhenna Gabriel and University of Alabama’s Bailey Moody – the initiative leveraged the partnerships by amplifying each athlete’s unique story

Deeper than an classic endorsement, the #BreakingLimits campaign seeks to dismiss a gendered advantage from the beginning, even in terms of sponsorship dollars by providing equal compensation to both men and women athletes in aggregate through our NIL effort.

Introduced through a digital launch spot, the #BreakingLimits platform also spans mentorship and ongoing community engagement and empowerment and thus stretches farther than simple sign-on bonuses or brand partnerships.

“Really, the aim is to just go and set a positive precedent for brands working with college athletes,” explained Degree’s Senior Brand Manager Chiara Grillo. “We’ve pledged $5 million over the next five years in activities that inspire people to move more, partnering very closely with a number of incredible NGOs and movers. On top of mentorship, we’re also making sure one part of the athlete’s endorsement includes identifying meaningful programs in their own community that allow them to inspire others.”

Unilever’s VP of Media & Engagement Rob Master sees this NIL opportunity aligned with the consumer goods company’s push towards creating a more socially inclusive world and added: “These are things that our brands and we as an organization have been focused on for years,” he says. “We wanted to take that same approach to how we engage with the student college athlete.”

Comment:

While other early college athlete marketing partnerships have focused on light-hearted social media stunts (eg Kool Aid McKinstry) and college football (eg Beats & Shedeur Sanders) which commands the majority of NIL dollars, this project takes a different approach.