Director, NIL Revenue & Activation - Ohio State University

LEARFIELD•Columbus, OH

About The Position

The Director, NIL Revenue & Activation serves as Buckeye Sports Properties’ strategic lead for Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) initiatives. The role aligns NIL strategy with institutional values and NCAA and conference guidelines, drives revenue through NIL opportunities, and ensures execution of athlete engagements. It bridges relationships among athletics administration, coaches, compliance, creative services, brand partners, and donors. The Director leads NIL strategy, operations, athlete relations, contracting, and business development. The position oversees daily NIL fulfillment and stakeholder coordination, partners with athletics and sales teams to develop revenue opportunities, and supports recruiting and retention through NIL materials and activation examples. It also provides leadership oversight of NIL events, content, social media strategy, and facility management, while monitoring success metrics and athlete brand development. The ideal candidate is an experienced leader in sports marketing, athlete relations, sponsorship sales, and revenue generation who can work autonomously in a fast-paced, evolving environment and balance day-to-day activation with long-term planning.

Requirements

Minimum 8 years of relevant experience, including NIL, sponsorship, athlete marketing, or sports business.
Strong understanding of NCAA and compliance regulations, NIL trends, and the collegiate athletics landscape.
Proven experience leading teams, developing strategy, and driving revenue growth.
Excellent communication, relationship-building, and negotiation skills.
Ability to navigate ambiguity in a fast-evolving NIL environment.
Experience developing or supporting social media content strategies, with an understanding of what drives engagement across different platforms.
Familiarity with creative production elements such as graphic design, motion graphics, photography, and social storytelling.
Understanding of digital and social media best practices within NIL and influencer marketing.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Drive NIL dealmaking revenue strategy and support NIL sales efforts with the Sports Properties Team.
Manage and lead dedicated NIL Sports Properties sales and fulfillment staff.
Design and implement sustainable NIL infrastructure aligned with university values, athletic priorities, and national regulations.
Partner with athletics leadership and internal units, including development, MMR, and compliance, to optimize NIL strategy and athlete opportunities.
Evaluate NIL revenue potential, staffing needs, and organizational processes for continued growth.
Provide strategic input on revenue-sharing models, athlete incentives, and policies supporting a competitive NIL ecosystem.
Oversee daily NIL operations, including fulfillment, local deal flow, athlete education, and stakeholder coordination.
Serve as the primary liaison between student-athletes, brand partners, and the athletics department.
Ensure accurate dissemination of deal metrics and uphold internal and external compliance standards.
Support athletes with NIL opportunity awareness, fulfillment, and related needs.
Collaborate with legal and compliance teams on contract reviews and risk mitigation, including House settlement terms.
Develop custom NIL pitch materials and activation examples for coaches to support recruiting and retention.
Partner with the MMR sales team to align NIL initiatives with existing and new sponsorship revenue opportunities.
Lead and participate in brand partner conversations, including non-sponsor NIL deals and donor engagement.
Oversee packaging, pricing strategies, proposal development, and contract finalization.
Identify and promote NIL revenue opportunities beyond existing sponsorship structures or traditional athletics budgets.
Provide leadership oversight, but not direct execution, of NIL-related events, content creation, social media strategy, and facility management.
Support NIL marketing campaigns and events in collaboration with content and operations staff.
Monitor success metrics and athlete brand development using social and performance data.