Blake Lawrence

Opendorse was named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list for 2026. Pretty surreal to see our name on a list alongside companies like Google, NVIDIA, Adidas, Nintendo, and Airbnb.

Athletes also have responsibilities under the new NIL reporting system. What options does an athlete have if a deal gets flagged or rejected by NIL Go? This is explained in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Get 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

The smartest schools are actively helping athletes secure more legitimate NIL deals... Do third-party payments facilitated by the school count against the cap? The full explanation is in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Now 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

The #NJCAA and @opendorse Renew Partnership to Continue Empowering Student-Athletes with NIL Education and Opportunities! Read more ⬇️ njcaa.org/general/2025-2…

UNLV Athletics and Opendorse are teaming up to help Rebel student-athletes build their brands and maximize NIL opportunities. More info: bit.ly/4w5vcBi

Striking poses and deals at our first @opendorse NIL day 📸💵

The timing of NIL and benefit offers matters for recruits and their families. When can schools make NIL or benefits-related offers to high school athletes? This is covered in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Now 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

As college sports changes, we all are debating what should be preserved... Will the professionalization of college sports erode the tradition and fan appeal of amateurism? I walk through this in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Currently 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

Not all NIL deals receive the same level of scrutiny from regulators. What types of NIL deals are reviewed more closely under NIL Go? I break this down in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

The biggest schools are looking for creative ways to stretch their compensation limits. Can a school route benefits through a third party and avoid the cap? This is explained in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Get 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

Brands sometimes want to feature school logos or uniforms in athlete marketing content. How much does it cost to license school marks for NIL content? The full explanation is in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Now 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

Have told this story a few times but will share here. I was in a cabinet meeting while serving as interim VP of Comms at LSU in 2023 surrounded by people who knew a lot more than me about higher education. We were looking at metrics that influence US News and World Report rankings. One key metric in the rankings, as I recall it, is freshmen retention – how many freshmen return for their sophomore year. To my recollection, this very directly impacts graduation rates and is a major factor in where your college ranks, which is a major factor in how many applications you receive, which is a major factor in how much tuition revenue you collect, which is a major factor in the fiscal success of the institution. We were going through the chart, and being the sports guy in the room, I noticed a pretty clear trend. The highest years for freshmen retention at LSU – 2003, 2007, and 2019 – all years LSU Football made national championship runs. Those are the peaks in the graphic attached (generated by Claude using public data). They’re fairly dramatic when visualized. It was a light bulb moment for me. And there’s a 2017 study (epublications.marquette.edu/econ_fac/554/) that shows success in football and basketball absolutely increases student persistence. So I guess what I’m saying is that the games really do matter.

Roster construction is changing, but not every tradition is disappearing. Can schools still carry walk-ons under the new rules? This is covered in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Now 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

With so many new rules, it’s easy to miss what actually matters most. What’s the single most important thing everyone should understand about the House Settlement? I walk through this in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Currently 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

College sports spending limits still look modest compared to the pros. How does the 22% cap compare to revenue sharing in pro sports leagues? I break this down in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

People and entities connected to schools face different restrictions than outside brands. What does it mean to be an associated payor, associated entity, or associated individual? This is explained in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Get 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

Schools now have to document athlete benefits much more formally than before. Do all benefits to prospective or current athletes have to be in a written agreement? The full explanation is in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Now 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

Most followed athletes at Oklahoma ⬇️

College programs are borrowing ideas from how professional teams manage payrolls. How are pro sports salary cap strategies influencing college programs? This is covered in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Now 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

Direct payments outside of NIL still raise compliance and accounting questions. Can a Participating Institution provide direct payments to athletes outside of NIL? I walk through this in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement Currently 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…

Schools are being more deliberate about how their brand assets are used by athletes. Can student-athletes include school logos, uniforms, or facilities in NIL content? I break this down in my book NIL 101: The House Settlement 40% off blakelawrence.gumroad.com/l/NIL101TheHou…