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$390,000 to Jaylon Tyson, a former basketball guard at UC Berkeley, from a group of private donors.

$3,000 to Jordan Chiles, a UCLA gymnast and Olympic gold-medal winner, from Grammarly, an AI writing company. 

$390 to Mekhi Mays, a former Cal State Long Beach sprinter, from a local barbecue joint. 

These payments 鈥� derived from data that public universities provided to CalMatters 鈥� were part of 鈥渘ame, image and likeness deals鈥� requiring students to create on social media. 

Such sponsorship deals were unheard of just four years ago. In 2021, California enacted a law allowing athletes to make these kinds of brand deals. It was the first state to pass such a law, prompting across the country. 

This is the first-ever look at what many California athletes have actually made. University records show that money is flowing, but how much college athletes earn depends largely on the popularity of the sport, the gender and star power of its players and the fanbase of the university. While UCLA gymnasts earned over $2 million in the last three school years, university records show that players on the UCLA women鈥檚 water polo team earned just $152 during the same time frame, despite winning the national championship last year. 

For companies, these name, image and likeness deals are akin to paying any other celebrity or professional athlete to promote a product. University alumni and sports fans can鈥檛 give money directly to a student athlete 鈥� at least not yet 鈥� but they are allowed to make name, image and likeness deals. Many universities have private donor groups, known as collectives or booster clubs, that offer athletes money, sometimes more than $400,000 in a single transaction, in exchange for an autograph or participation in a brief charity event. Often, those deals are a pretext to send money to top-tier players and discourage them from seeking better deals at other colleges.

CalMatters reached out to every public and private university in the state with Division 1 teams, where the potential for profit is typically highest, and requested data that shows how much money each of its student athletes have made since 2021. State law requires all student athletes to report to their school any compensation they receive from their name, image and likeness, and public universities are required to disclose certain kinds of data upon request. Private universities, such as Stanford University and the University of Southern California, are not required to disclose any data about their students鈥� earnings. 

All of the public Division 1 universities responded to CalMatters鈥� inquiry, though they did not all provide the same degree of transparency. San Jose State and Cal State Northridge said they had no records of any deals.

There鈥檚 no consequence for students who fail to report what are known as NIL deals, so the data from public institutions may be incomplete. Still, certain trends emerge: 

• College athletes at the state鈥檚 public universities received millions of dollars from collectives or booster clubs. At four University of California schools, around 70% or more of all compensation came from these collectives, according to university records. That鈥檚 just below national trends, according to by Opendorse, a tech company that tracks students鈥� deals. 
• Male basketball players earned the most. While football is more popular and lucrative, nationally, many public Division 1 schools in California lack a football team. The football data may also be incomplete. For instance, all football players at UC Berkeley reported making a total of just over $113,000 since 2021 鈥� less than what all San Diego State players made 鈥� even though Berkeley is in a more prominent conference. 
• For high-profile football or basketball players in particular, it鈥檚 becoming more common for students to transfer multiple times, often in search of better name, image and likeness deals. Some California institutions, such as UC Davis and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, have seen top athletes transfer colleges or threaten to transfer in order to attain better compensation elsewhere.
• Except for a few star players, such as Chiles, most female college athletes made very little, according to the data provided to CalMatters. 
• Collectively, athletes at UCLA and UC Berkeley earned more than double what those attending other UC and California State University campuses made. Some donors, such as those supporting Sacramento State and UC San Diego, have rapidly raised money to compete, while at other schools, athletic directors say they鈥檒l never be able to guarantee such high-dollar deals. 

Schools often removed any information that could identify an individual student. While UCLA generally did not provide the individual names of its athletes, the school was more transparent than most and shared the date of each transaction, the name of the brand or company, the amount of money it gave, and the sport. In February, a UCLA gymnast reported receiving $250,000 from the beverage company Bubbl鈥檙. Since then, Chiles has that brand, . In May, a UCLA gymnast reported receiving $210,000 from the cosmetic brand Milani for 鈥渟ocial media鈥� 鈥� just a few months before Chiles posted a video on Instagram, . One or more members of the UCLA gymnastics team have also reported deals with the food company Danone for $300,000 and with the health care company Sanofi for $285,000. 

Fresno State shared less information. In the 2021-22 academic year, the Fresno State women鈥檚 basketball team raked in over $1.1 million from multiple name, image and likeness deals, but the university did not disclose which players were involved or how many were paid. After influencers and former basketball players and transferred to the University of Miami in April 2022, the number and dollar amount of deals for the Fresno team diminished. In the 2023-24 academic year, the team made just over $1,000 from 10 different deals.

Money from boosters or collectives is the hardest to trace. In May, for example, a group of UCLA donors gave an undisclosed football player $450,000 for 鈥渟ocial media.鈥� 

While private universities are not required to disclose students鈥� earnings, market estimates from , a media and technology company focused on college sports, say the highest-earning Stanford University athlete, basketball player , could collect $1.5 million in the next 12 months. The top USC athlete, football player , could make $603,000 in the next year, according to the same estimates. These numbers are based on an algorithm that uses aggregate deals from college athletes across the country. Nationwide, the Opendorse report estimates that college athletes will earn $1.65 billion in the 2024-25 academic year. 

Soon, college athletes may make even more. A high-profile will likely allow schools to pay athletes directly, while still classifying them as students, not employees. If the proposed settlement agreement goes into effect, students could see payouts as early as this fall. 

If a school pays a student directly, the money should be divided roughly proportional to the number of male and female athletes, the Biden administration said in a U.S. Department of Education issued in January. The page . 

In the last few months, attorneys have rescinded federal labor petitions asking that USC and Dartmouth College student athletes be reclassified as employees, but new cases are likely on the horizon, said Mit Winter, an attorney who specializes in name, image and likeness law: 鈥淚 do think at some point 鈥� two years, five years, whatever it is 鈥� at least some college athletes will be employees.鈥�

A Times Square billboard reads: NIL has begun

For decades, college sports have been a big business, though most of the money flowed to universities, not students. Nationally, Division 1 universities reported in 2022, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). That鈥檚 more than the gross domestic product of . For schools with top-performing football programs, such as UCLA and Berkeley, and other kinds of marketing represent over a third of total revenue. 

Before California鈥檚 law went into effect, college athletes weren鈥檛 allowed to profit off their sport, though they frequently received scholarships equal to the cost of college tuition. On July 1, 2021 the new law took effect, and Haley and Hanna Cavinder were the first to benefit, with Boost Mobile, a cell phone company, and Sixstar, a nutrition company, just after the stroke of midnight. A proclaimed they were the first such deals in the country. 

Over the past four years, other California college athletes have signed advertising deals with clothing brands such as Crocs, Heelys and Aeropostale and food brands such as Liquid I.V. and Jack in the Box. FTX, the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, signed contracts with on the UCLA women鈥檚 basketball team in 2021. In 2022, the Biden campaign gave a UCLA gymnast $7,000, but public records did not disclose the purpose of the transaction. No other politicians appeared in any university鈥檚 data.

Last year, Visit Fresno County, a nonprofit that promotes tourism, paid former Fresno State football players and just under $10,000 to post Instagram videos about and , according to President and CEO Lisa Oliveira. She said the posts were so successful that she asked Agina to make another video, promoting a . 

But much of the money for students鈥� name, image and likeness doesn鈥檛 come from brands at all 鈥� it鈥檚 from private donors. Philanthropist and entertainment lawyer Mark Kalmansohn has given nearly $150,000 in 12 different transactions to athletes on UCLA鈥檚 volleyball, softball and women鈥檚 basketball teams since 2022, according to the data, which runs through May of last year. In an interview with CalMatters, Kalmansohn said he鈥檚 given more than $175,000 since May. 鈥淲omen鈥檚 sports were almost always treated in a second-hand nature and given inferior resources,鈥� he said, adding that his philanthropy is about 鈥渨omen鈥檚 rights.鈥�

In exchange for money, he asks each recipient to issue a free license of their name, image and likeness to a nonprofit organization that鈥檚 relevant to the athlete鈥檚 sport. But he said that鈥檚 not the norm. 鈥淚n men鈥檚 football and men鈥檚 basketball, it鈥檚 pretty obvious that money is not for an 鈥榓ppearance鈥�.鈥� Instead, he explained that it鈥檚 a way to support the player and keep the team competitive. 

Most donors give money to specific athletes through a collective, where the donors鈥� identities are largely hidden. At UCLA, public data through the 2023-24 academic year shows that a collective known as the Men of Westwood channeled nearly $2 million in private donations to the football, basketball and baseball teams. At Berkeley, collectives gave over $1.3 million to athletes since the 2022-23 academic year 鈥� the vast majority of which went to the men鈥檚 basketball team. 

Supporting 鈥榚lite talent鈥� at UC and Cal State

For years, NCAA rules made it difficult for college athletes to transfer schools, but in 2021, right around the time that California started to allow name, image and likeness deals, the NCAA eased . The number of students who transfer suddenly and , according to NCAA data. In practice, the new rules means that a well-endowed collective can lure athletes who want to make more money. 

This year, over 11% of all Division 1 football players have tried to transfer colleges, an increase from the previous year, said Matt Kraemer, whose organization, , uses social media posts and tips from insiders to gauge college athletes鈥� transfer activity. Quarterbacks are even more likely to try to transfer, Kraemer said.

For institutions like UC Davis, the threat of losing a top athlete can be costly. Late in the 2023-24 academic year, donors from other universities promised top athletes lucrative deals if they agreed to transfer, so UC Davis formed a collective, , to make counter-offers, said Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a means to retain elite talent here at Davis.鈥�

DeLuca said the collective gave men鈥檚 basketball guard $50,000 and UC Davis running back $25,000. Those transactions were for 鈥渟ocial media, appearances, autographs,鈥� according to the university's data. 

So far, all other UC Davis athletes 鈥� more than 700 students over 25 sports 鈥� have reported just under $19,000 in deals since 2021. A few other athletes received products, such as a free cryotherapy session or a commission based on sales.

In December, former UC Berkeley quarterback Fernando Mendoza transferred to Indiana University, where he later signed with a collective for an undisclosed amount. UC Berkeley then recruited former Ohio State quarterback Devin Brown It鈥檚 not clear if the Berkeley collective offered Brown a deal, since the university鈥檚 data doesn鈥檛 name Brown. 

Justin DiTolla, Berkeley鈥檚 associate athletic director, said the university is 鈥渘ot affiliated with the collective鈥� and that the university provides 鈥渆qual support to all student athletes.鈥� 鈥淲e recognize that there is a difference in NIL support,鈥� he said, 鈥淏ut it isn鈥檛 under our scope or umbrella.鈥� The Berkeley collective, California Legends, declined to comment.

At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, some football players sought more money through a name, image and likeness deal by transferring to another school, but they didn鈥檛 all succeed, said Don Oberhelman, the university鈥檚 athletic director. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the dirty little secret of all of this: the number of kids who blow an opportunity.鈥�

This fall, nine football players at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo announced their intention to transfer, he said. Six of them found a new university, he said, including University of Texas El Paso, San Diego State, Stanford, and Washington State 鈥� but three of them never received an offer from another school. 

Oberhelman said that his football coach begins recruiting a replacement the moment a player announces his intention to transfer. If that student doesn鈥檛 end up transferring, he may lose his spot on the football team and the entirety of his athletic scholarship, which can be up to $30,000 a year. 

鈥淭here鈥檚 raw emotion involved in these kinds of decisions,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 how we would operate, but I can see a lot of people say, 鈥榊ou broke up with us.鈥欌�� 

Oberhelman said he doesn鈥檛 know what happened to the three players from the football team who failed to transfer. 鈥淔or me, it would boil down to: Did we promise that money to someone else? Did we find another transfer or a high school person to replace you? If we did, that would put your future financial aid with us in jeopardy.鈥�

Small-town name, image and likeness deals 

Outside of top football and men鈥檚 basketball programs, many of California鈥檚 college athletes vie for smaller name, image and likeness deals, often with local businesses, lesser-known clothing or athletic brands, or anything else they can find.

Former Berkeley softball player got $50 from one woman to give a pitching lesson to her daughter. In July 2023, chiropractor Lance Casazza started giving out free sessions to at least one Sacramento State football player in exchange for social media posts.

, a basketball player at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, got her first deal through a local restaurant, Jewel of India, which occasionally has a pop-up tent outside the college gym. 鈥淚 just said, 鈥楬ey I can market you. Let鈥檚 think of a cool slogan to put out.鈥欌�� Customers who ask to 鈥渟wish with Shah鈥� at the checkout counter get a discount on their meal, she said. Shah doesn鈥檛 get any money, she said, but she does get free food whenever she visits. 

鈥淚t was just a cool relationship and connection that I made with this family and the owners of Jewel of India, where they just want to help me out and I want to help them.鈥澛�

Walking around campus, friends jokingly refer to Shah as their own 鈥淛ewel of India鈥� and she likes it. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a marketable slogan now, and it kind of identifies who I am.鈥�

Many Division 1 schools have their own websites where customers can buy gear with an athlete鈥檚 name on it, but last fall, no such platform existed at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, said Shah, so she created her own. She partnered with a company, Cloud 9 Sports, and launched her own apparel brand. It鈥檚 brought in about $2,000 in sales so far, but after the university and Cloud 9 Sports take a cut, Shah said she鈥檚 left with about $800. 

Shah said she was never told to report any of her monetary or in-kind contributions. After CalMatters asked, Oberhelman, the athletic director, said the school is now requiring it. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 done a great job following up because we鈥檙e just not going to have student athletes that are getting even five-figure deals,鈥� he said. 

Oberhelman said he only knew of eight deals, each for $2,000, all to the men鈥檚 football team from a group of private donors.

Fresno State provided more data than Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but it did not designate which deals came from its collective, known as Bulldog Bread. On the collective says it has raised more than $690,000 in corporate donations for Fresno State. At the top tier, that includes money from former Fresno State quarterbacks David and Derek Carr, property developer Lance Kashian, and construction company Tarlton and Son, Inc. The collective recently launched a vodka brand in partnership with a distillery, where a portion of all proceeds support students鈥� name, image and likeness deals.

Athletes at UC Santa Barbara have reported $1,800 from their collective, Gold & Blue, but many other transactions reported by the school provide few details. According to the school鈥檚 data, an unnamed person or group made 15 deals with one or more members of the UC Santa Barbara men鈥檚 basketball team, totaling over $50,000 in 鈥渁ppearance fees鈥� for an event last August associated with Heal the Ocean, a local environmental nonprofit. 

The organization鈥檚 executive director, Hillary Hauser, said the nonprofit made no such contribution and had no events in August. University spokesperson Kiki Reyes said it鈥檚 鈥減ossible鈥� that a collective made those payments, but she refused to respond to CalMatters鈥� questions regarding Hauser鈥檚 statement the event never occurred. 

From August 2023 to August 2024, male basketball and baseball athletes at UC Santa Barbara reported roughly $500,000 in compensation for appearance fees related to various charities. Over the same time frame, all other athletes reported receiving free products, sales referrals, and cash payments totaling about $1,000.

At UCLA, the CEO of the Men of Westwood collective, Ken Graiwer, is listed in university records as the 鈥減oint of contact鈥� for a $450,000 contribution, distributed over six transactions in the 2023-24 academic year, to the men鈥檚 basketball team for 鈥減ublic appearances.鈥� For each of those transactions, the university鈥檚 data lists the Team First Foundation, a sports nonprofit, as the vendor. Neither UCLA nor the Team First Foundation responded to questions about who made the payment. 

A few months before those transactions, the Men of Westwood posted a few photos on its Instagram account, showing UCLA men鈥檚 basketball players on the court with smiling children from the Team First Foundation programs. In the post, the Men of Westwood said it was  

California universities try to 鈥榮tay competitive鈥�

Since becoming legal in 2021, the market for name, image and likeness compensation has exploded. Sports commentators, attorneys, and athletic directors say the landscape is a kind of 鈥渨ild West鈥� or 鈥済old rush鈥�: The money is pouring in, but the regulations are sparse or evolving.

CalMatters has partial data from the 2024-25 academic year, but early indicators suggest that even more cash will soon flow to players. In September, a group of Sacramento State alumni, including some state lawmakers, said they for name, image and likeness deals. Cal State Bakersfield and UC San Diego recently formed their own collectives too.

Last year, former Democratic Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley 鈥� one of the co-authors of the 鈥� proposed to gather more data about spending by collectives and its impact on women鈥檚 sports. Newsom vetoed the bill, saying 鈥淔urther changes to this dynamic should be done nationally.鈥� 

Initially, the NCAA tried to prevent colleges from directly assisting athletes with deals, but the association has , blurring the lines between universities and the private collectives that support them. Many states have passed laws explicitly allowing universities to make deals directly with students. In October, Skinner and former Democratic Sen. Steven Bradford wrote to California universities, encouraging them to do the same. 

鈥淚 strongly urge California schools to make full use of (the watershed law) to stay competitive in college sports, especially now that other states are copying California and allowing their schools to make direct NIL deals with their student athletes,鈥� said Skinner in a press release about the letter.

This spring, California District Judge Claudia Wilken is expected to approve a settlement between athletes and the NCAA that would further expand the ways universities can pay their players. In , a college could directly spend up to a combined $20.5 million per year on payments to all of its athletes. The spending limit would grow over time.

Regardless of the settlement, athletic directors at many of California鈥檚 public institutions, such as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal State Bakersfield, said they don鈥檛 plan on giving any more money directly to students because their athletic programs lack the cash. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e already on full scholarship, so there aren鈥檛 any more existing dollars we can really offer that person,鈥� said Oberhelman, with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Even if the university did have the money, he said he鈥檚 concerned about the legal implications of paying students directly. 鈥淎re they going to get a W-2 now? Are we paying workers comp? Nobody seems to have answered a lot of these questions.鈥�

DiTolla, at Berkeley, said the university will start paying its athletes once the settlement is finalized. UC San Diego joined Division 1 sports last year, and Athletic Director Earl Edwards said it is 鈥渟eriously considering鈥� paying its athletes too 鈥渋f that鈥檚 what we need to do to be competitive.鈥� UCLA refused to comment on the proposed settlement.

USC Senior Associate Athletic Director Cody Worsham said the university will 鈥渋nvest the full permissible $20.5 million in 2025-26.鈥� Stanford refused to answer any questions.

While no Division 1 school in California has shared details about how it plans to pay its athletes, experts, such as attorney Mit Winter, say the proposed settlement is unlikely to change the current disparities in college sports, especially within the four most lucrative and dominant athletic conferences, known as the Power Four. Stanford, USC, UC Berkeley and UCLA are all in the Power Four. 

For female rowers like , a freshman at UCLA, the disparities among men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 sports 鈥� and between football, basketball and everyone else 鈥� are no surprise. 鈥淭hose big sports do bring in the most revenue, and they鈥檙e the most watched,鈥� she said, while acknowledging that other athletes, such as fellow rowers, 鈥渄eserve much more than we鈥檙e getting.鈥� 

Singer said she鈥檚 been working on building her social media brand and has nearly 3,000 followers on and just over 1,300 on . A few 鈥渧ery small companies鈥� reached out to her through TikTok about promoting beauty products, but none of the brands felt like a good fit, she said. She has yet to agree to any deals or receive any funding from a collective.

Neither have most of her peers. The UCLA women鈥檚 rowing team has reported less than $500 in name, image and likeness compensation since 2021.

In the proposed settlement, each school will each be able to independently determine how to distribute their funds, but Winter said universities will likely follow their peers. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e in UCLA, Berkeley鈥�.you鈥檙e in the Power Four and you鈥檙e going to have to stay competitive in recruiting,鈥� he said. 

鈥淢ost of the Power Four schools have all sort of landed on a similar way they鈥檙e going to pay that money out,鈥� he added: 75% to the football team, 15% to the basketball team, around 5% to women鈥檚 basketball, and 5% to all other sports.

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