Northern Michigan University (NMU) is launching the Northern Michigan Wildcat Exchange, a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) platform developed in partnership with Teamworks Influencer, expanding opportunities for student-athletes to monetize their personal brands.

The implementation follows similar recent launches at Brown University, Eastern Michigan University, and Eastern Kentucky University. Teamworks Influencer’s platform currently serves over 200 athletic departments and 100,000 active athletes, processing over $200 million in NIL deals since its 2012 launch.

The platform creates a business registry connecting companies, donors, and alumni directly with student-athletes for NIL deals. Registered businesses can search and initiate conversations with athletes through the exchange, facilitating direct payments without transaction fees and automating compliance disclosures.

“It is important that our student-athletes have the education and tools to be successful,” Rick Comley, Director of Athletics at NMU, said in a news release. “The Northern Michigan Wildcat Exchange prioritizes putting our student-athletes first and it will be a valuable tool that our athletes can utilize throughout their time at Northern Michigan.”

The platform provides resources in several key areas: education, marketplace exchange access, infrastructure, agreement disclosure, compliance, content sharing, and personal branding. Teamworks Influencer will work with NMU’s internal team to manage these functions.

Market Trend Reflects Growing Brand Interest in College Athletics

Sean Kelly, Senior Account Executive at Teamworks Influencer, stated, “The Northern Michigan Wildcat Exchange will unlock new opportunities for their student-athletes, allowing them to monetize their brand and pursue NIL deals at a larger scale.”

The platform enables businesses to create transactions that directly compensate student-athletes while automatically recording the deal in the Influencer Compliance Ledger, streamlining the administrative process for all parties involved.

The launch comes as brands increasingly target college athletics for Gen Z consumer engagement. In a recent Net Influencer interview, Ayden Syal, CEO of athlete marketplace and software provider MOGL, noted a “massive influx” of new brands entering the NIL space, attributing this to Gen Z’s high responsiveness to influencer marketing.