Meet Sydney Stephens: Illinois Women's Soccer
NIL Brand Portfolio includes: US Cellular, Frito-Lay, and Undeniably Dairy
University of Illinois Women’s soccer player Sydney Stephens grew up in a family of athletes. As one of the youngest, she watched most of her family members play several sports and soon enough she would grow to love playing soccer.
Today, Stephens is second on her team in goals, named to the academic all Big Ten team and earned CSC academic all district honors. As an NIL athlete, her professional portfolio consists of working with brands like U.S Cellular, Undeniably Dairy and Frito Lay Ultimate Watch Party.
When she first started NIL, Stephens focused on working with local brands near her college town, Champaign. With more of a local approach she worked with town boutiques and donut shops which would eventually lead to larger brands reaching out to her.
“My favorite part about NIL is just content creation,” Stephens said, “I think I really like doing it, it’s a part of me that I didn’t expect to find out about myself.”
Stephens pursuit to secure NIL deals has led her to understand herself more as a person who has a passion for working with brands. Within her content and her play on the field, she strives to be a student athlete who other women can look up to.
“I am somebody that wants to empower young women in my sport and want to empower young women outside of the sport that they play as well and I think that really speaks through the deals that I do and the content I put up for brands,” Stephens said.
Stephens describes the support she has received from the University of Illinois revolving around her NIL activities as “absolutely unmatched.” She praises the university for their ability to embrace NIL.
“They’ve done an excellent job of providing us with resources and I would say they are on the front end of anything NIL that kind of comes up,” Stephens said, “it’s all new, it's all changing all the time.”
Although she believes colleges paying their student athletes is a controversial topic, Stephens thinks universities have been accommodating so far.
“I think universities are doing everything they can to help their student athletes right now and I love to see it,” Stephens said, “I love giving back to the student athletes and I love that the universities are investing in their student athletes and investing in the growth of the game.”
Stephens views NIL as a vessel for student athletes to be given more opportunities. She believes that NIL can give small sports a chance to grow in viewership especially if athletes on certain teams are being highlighted.
Stephens advises other student athletes seeking NIL deals to “never stop asking questions and never stop learning.” She also suggests that they create a small support system for themselves filled with 12 people who have “expertise in different areas” to guide them through their NIL journey.
Due to her Covid eligibility, Stephens is lacing up her cleats for one more season with the U of I soccer team next fall. After, she plans to go pro whether it is for a team in the U.S or overseas. However, she does have other plans as she is simultaneously pursuing her Master’s degree in sports management this fall and has always had dreams of teaching.
“Beyond playing I’m looking at coaching and I have my undergrad in early childhood education so pre-school is always a passion of mine being in the classroom,” Stephens said.