Blog post provided by Marvin Lewis, Assistant Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, George Mason University
Over the past few years, I’ve heard one question more than almost any other: “How does Name, Image, and Likeness actually work?”
It’s a fair question. With so many headlines around college athletics, Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) can feel complicated and at times misunderstood. At its core, NIL allows student-athletes to be compensated for using their name, image, and likeness in activities such as social media campaigns, appearances, speaking engagements, youth clinics, community events, and brand ambassador work.
Just as college students can earn income through music, art, entrepreneurship, or other pursuits, student-athletes can now benefit from the value they create through the use of their name, image, and likeness.
For businesses, NIL represents something much larger than a change in college athletics. It creates a new way to connect with audiences, strengthen community relationships, invest in the next generation of talent, and tell your brand’s story through authentic local voices.
These partnerships may not resemble the professional athlete endorsement deals we’ve seen for decades, but they represent accessible, measurable, and mutually beneficial opportunities that make NIL attractive for organizations throughout Northern Virginia.
We are already seeing this impact in action with several examples of how NIL can work in practice. Here are two success stories from George Mason University (GMU) student-athletes.
Women’s Soccer Player Madyson Taylor
Madyson Taylor partnered with a NOVA-based Crumbl Cookies location, creating a visible connection between a local business, a specific student-athlete, and fans in the community.
According to the athletics sponsorship intelligence platform Student-Athlete Score, Taylor’s Crumbl social media post generated more than 114,000 impressions and achieved an impressive 24% engagement rate. Notably, her post ranked #1 on the platform for total mentions, outperforming 46 athlete mentions across the platform during that time.
Women’s Lacrosse Player Payton Farley
Payton Farley partnered with Fairfax yoga studio Yoga Commons, demonstrating how NIL can also connect student-athletes with wellness-focused businesses with shared values.
This partnership began when Farley was recovering from surgery. She aligned those personal experiences with a local business focused on movement, recovery, and community engagement.
As part of the partnership, Farley helped promote Yoga Commons through social media content and brand storytelling, while emphasizing the importance of recovery and mental wellness as a student-athlete. The collaborative efforts of this NIL partnership ultimately led to Yoga Commons partnering with the entire George Mason Women’s Lacrosse Team to provide yoga and recovery sessions.
Why NIL Matters to Northern Virginia Businesses
When a business partners with a student-athlete, it is not simply partnering with an athlete, but also with a future business leader, teacher, engineer, entrepreneur, health care professional, innovator, or public servant — many of whom will continue building their lives and careers right here in the region. At GMU, nearly 80% of our student-athletes graduate and remain in the DMV area.
As the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, my role is not simply to support athletic achievement, but to help student-athletes develop into professionals and leaders who contribute meaningfully to their communities.
NIL provides an important pathway to do exactly that. For Northern Virginia businesses, it also offers practical opportunities to engage student-athletes while building relationships that can benefit their organizations as well as the broader community.
When approached thoughtfully, NIL creates opportunities that strengthen student-athletes while benefiting local businesses.
NIL gives us a powerful way to bring that vision to life.
Want to Learn More about NIL?
George Mason Athletics will host the NIL Business Summit on August 19, 2026, from 6:00-8:00 pm, bringing together business leaders, community partners, and student-athletes. The Summit will help organizations better understand how NIL works, showcase successful partnership models, and demonstrate that businesses of every size can participate in ways that are authentic, affordable, and impactful.
Whether you are exploring NIL for the first time or looking for innovative ways to connect with new audiences, I encourage you to join us. We want our partners to see the potential, ask questions, and imagine what is possible when business, community, education, and athletics work together.
Marvin Lewis was named George Mason University’s sixth Assistant Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics on July 1, 2023. He has led a major transformation of George Mason Athletics — re-energizing student-athletes, fans, and the campus community while elevating the program’s profile to new heights.
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