Real NIL: Superstar Personal Branding at The U
Jacey Hinton (Miami Swim & Dive): This Athlete-Creators' NIL Brand Portfolio Includes: Adidas, CVS, Steve Madden and many more
When Jacey Hinton arrived at the University of Miami to swim, she already had a personal brand. Hinton, the current Miss Massachusetts, had experience modeling and in content creation.
Hinton, the daughter of two athletes, began swimming at the age of four. Although swimming wasn’t the only sport she was involved in growing up, her focus on the sport narrowed as she got older and continued to swim competitively. In high school, she was a three-time Scholastic All-American and was named USA Today’s Massachusetts high school swimmer of the year in 2021.
“I don’t even know what my life would be without swimming,” Hinton said.
Drawn to the competition of a Power 5 conference, the academic opportunity in her pursued field of broadcast journalism and (admittedly) the weather, Hinton chose to swim at the University of Miami, where she is currently one of the top points earners for the team and won the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award.
Name, Image and Likeness has helped Hinton learn how to be a better content creator, market herself and ultimately prepare herself for a future job in communications, she said. In addition to building a personal brand, she also wants to help build up the athletes of the future.
“I know that I want to help young female athletes… give them support and make them feel heard, which is something I wish I had when I was younger,” she said.
Currently, Hinton said she works with a meal prep service, following previous deals which include CVS and Steve Madden. She said that the bulk of her deals have come through Postgame, a NIL campaign manager, and connections made through Instagram. She is represented by NIL Sport Talent Agency, a group which also reached out on Instagram.
Once a deal with a company is approved, Hinton plans her content by observing “the vibe” of the company’s social media profiles and successful previous work made by other she can put her own spin on. Since a pool often does not serve as the best backdrop for a campaign, she often has to “get creative” about what her content looks like.
Hinton said the University of Miami’s athletic department has “done a really good job” educating athletes and providing support throughout the NIL process. The university has them log their deals on Opendorse, in order to keep records of athlete's deals, and brings in agencies to lead seminars on the topic.
Though the NIL market provides athletes opportunities they didn’t have even a few years ago, Hinton believes that ultimately, athletes deserve to get paid.
“As a female athlete in a sport that doesn’t get a lot of viewership or a lot of recognition, especially compared to big sports like football and basketball, I can see where complications might come about,” Hinton said. “But by all means, athletes deserve to get paid.”
Currently, Hinton continues to make use of the opportunity provided to her by NIL. She says she keeps NIL fun by involving her friends and taking each campaign as a chance to get better at content creation. She thinks all athletes should do the same.
“You can totally do this… At the end of the day, you’re given this opportunity, and you should use it to your advantage when you can,” Hinton said.
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