Kenny Pickett awakens most mornings with the same routine — brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, work out, continue preparing for the 2021 football season.

He didn’t change anything Thursday, but Pickett’s world surely did on the first day the NCAA gave its official blessing for student-athletes across the U.S. to market their name, image and likeness.

They are free to engage in such previously forbidden activities as earning money by signing autographs at a car dealership (for example), appearing in newspaper, internet, TV and radio ads and — in extreme cases — have bobbleheads made and sold in their image.

The possibilities are limited only by an advertising executive’s imagination and the boundaries of good taste. (Promoting gambling, alcohol or adult entertainment is not permitted.) Also, athletes can’t sport any gear or clothing with the university’s logo or mention the school while promoting a product or service.

Where do we apply for back pay?? https://t.co/7dOZzhYtN7

— Jason Pinkston (@JasonPinkstonOL) July 1, 2021

The newfound freedom took effect midnight Thursday, which was only hours before offers started to appear on Pickett’s phone as he grabbed it first thing in the morning.

Pitt’s fifth-year quarterback said he will proceed cautiously, but several other athletes have jumped aboard the NIL merry-go-round.

• Rival ACC quarterbacks McKenzie Milton of Florida State and D’Eriq King of Miami co-founded a company called Dreamfield that will book events for student-athletes.

• Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz is the first athlete to release a trademarked personal logo.

• Boost Mobile is contemplating a deal with identical twin sisters Hanna and Haley Cavinder, who play basketball at Fresno State and have more than 3 million followers on social media.

Without referencing specific cases, Pickett said, “I think there are a lot of people rushing into it who really don’t understand the full concept of it because it’s so new. We don’t really have anything to base off of because we are the guinea pigs of this whole thing.

“I think a lot of guys may focus on the wrong thing. It’s really exciting now. But in the grand scheme of things, it can be peanuts compared to what you can make in the future if you take care of business and what you want to do.

“That’s my main focus right now — going out with this team and having a great season and trying to accomplish all our goals. Offseason is when you can handle that stuff when football is slowing down.”

Senior defensive end Deslin Alexandre said it’s important for athletes to not “get too focused on things that don’t matter at that time.”

“Focus on the task at hand, which is football right now,” he said. “But learning as much as you can as you go through the process.”

Pitt basketball coach Jeff Capel warns student-athletes to remember what actually creates their marketing opportunities.

“Your brand is still made between the lines,” he said. “Stay in the gym. Keep working. Don’t let the pursuit of just money and capitalizing on that get in the way of education and becoming really good at what you do.

“What happens when you make a deal with a company and you don’t play well? They may snatch the deal. You get hurt. What does that mean for the deal? If all of a sudden you’re not playing, what does that do?”

Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke said her department formed an NIL task force in January and discussed it long before that — as early as pre-covid. They are also employing outside firms to help navigate uncharted waters.

“It’s not something we’re afraid to talk about. It’s real and it’s great,” she said.

Lyke said she met with the football team Wednesday and fielded questions from players.

“There were some people who asked questions, which were great,” she said. “The team was scheduled to play paintball after our meeting, and I would say about 70% of them were talking about paintball. I’m not sure how much it’s going to take hold (initially). We certainly have some entrepreneurial, bright, smart, interesting student-athletes that might have an interest.”

Lyke doesn’t know how many athletes will take advantage of NIL.

“Is it less than 10%?” she said. “There’s probably going to be a very small number that make a big amount (of money), but there may be others that take advantage of it.”

The possibility exists for schools to use marketing and social media opportunities as a recruiting tool, but that’s not permitted under established guidelines. Capel said during his most recent visits with recruits last month, the NIL issue never came up in conversation on either side.

Said Lyke: “We can’t recruit student-athletes with the idea, ‘Hey, come to Pitt because we can set you up with these NIL opportunities or these compensation opportunities.’”

Players are permitted to employ agents to sort through offers, and Pickett said that’s what he plans to do. He added he’s actually relieved he didn’t have to deal with NIL while he was getting recruited.

“It’s going to get really hectic now,” he said, “a lot more shady business being done, schools promising kids deals coming out of high school through whatever connections they have with businesses or companies they are tight with.

“It’s getting a little crazy here. I’m happy this is my last season.”

Despite the seismic change in the college athletics landscape, Lyke said NIL does not signal a loss of amateurism.

“We are not paying them. If we were paying them, it would be very different,” she said. “This is just treating them like any other college student in the country.”

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---