When Rosie Volpintesta ’27 was in high school, she made her first brand deal with an apparel company. Now, in her third year on the women’s track and field team, she receives at least 10 emails every day asking her to make promoted content and earns roughly $300 per month from these deals.
Since a 2021 policy change by the Ivy League, student-athletes have been able to profit off their name, image and likeness, commonly referred to as NIL, via third-party deals. Under the NCAA policy, NIL deals must compensate athletes, whether it’s through products, services or money.
But direct athlete compensation by universities remains prohibited in the Ivy League. In January, the Ivy League opted out of a $2.8 billion settlement that allowed NCAA athletes to be directly paid by their schools. Schools that opted into the settlement agreed to implement roster caps in place of limiting the number of total scholarships in addition to a number of NIL oversight rules.
Though disappointed that Brown cannot compensate her, Volpintesta recognized that Ivy League athletics are different from other conferences.
“I wish I got paid, and it does feel like a job, but I also do it because I love it,” she said. “If you choose to play a sport at an Ivy League institution, your priorities are different.”
Still, the league’s NIL policies have allowed her to profit from her image while competing for the Bears.
“I realized (NIL) was this incredible side effect,” she said. “It was like, ‘Wow, brands are starting to approach me, and I can make money while being an athlete.’”
Christopher Zhang ’28, a member of the men’s swimming and diving team who posts promotional content on his Instagram, said he has no qualms about the Ivy League’s decision to opt out of the NCAA settlement.
“I don’t think anyone’s really making that much money through the Ivy League anyway,” said Zhang, who expressed gratitude that the league will not be introducing new roster limits.
Olivia Pichardo ’26, who gained national attention in 2023 after becoming the first woman ever to earn a spot on a Division I baseball roster, initially hesitated to make brand deals after online comments decried her placement on the team as a publicity stunt. But after realizing how much she could earn from NIL deals, her attitude changed.
“At the end of the day, I know that I’m working hard,” she told The Herald. “I know that my teammates and my coaches know that I’m working hard, so it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks.”
The University has a number of policies that dictate how student-athletes can make NIL deals. Students are informed of these rules at annual compliance meetings, Associate Director of Athletics, Compliance Megan Cullinane Healy said in a statement shared with The Herald.
Deals valued over $600 must be reported to NCAA NIL Assist, an NCAA platform designed to track and facilitate NIL activities. The Ivy League requires deals over $2,000 to go through an additional screening process, she added.
To report NIL earnings, the University uses a platform called BRUNO Exchange, through which students can also seek out NIL deals with companies. The platform can also streamline reporting to the NCAA NIL Assist.
None of the athletes The Herald interviewed had used the app to make connections with sponsors, choosing to communicate with companies through other mediums. Volpintesta said that most of the deals she’s seen offered on the app are just “not cool.”
All three athletes emphasized that cultivating NIL deals can take up a lot of time — especially difficult on top of their already packed schedules. Zhang said that one video can take him over six hours to make, since companies often request several drafts before providing final approval.
Both Volpintesta and Zhang said that they have become much more selective about the deals they choose to accept. After working with Nike in exchange for a pair of running shoes, she declined a follow-up offer that did not include monetary compensation.
“I’m at this point now in my NIL journey where it’s like, even if something’s (a) really cool, free product, if they’re not paying me, I have to turn it down out of respect for myself,” Volpintesta said.
Ian Ritter is a university news and science & research editor, covering graduate schools and students. He is a junior concentrating in chemistry. When he isn’t at The Herald or exploding lab experiments, you can find him playing the clarinet or watching the Mets.
