NIL Edge
NIL Beyond Football and Basketball: Canopy's Jack Liechtung
Jack Liechtung, co-founder and CEO of Canopy, joins Sterling Randle to discuss how female college athletes and Olympic sports programs can create NIL opportunities through brand partnerships, team campaigns and content creation, with a focus on the fashion, beauty and wellness industries.
Presented in partnership with HPL Digital Sport ↗
Paid Interview Disclosure: This episode is a paid interview featuring Canopy. The conversation is presented for informational purposes and does not constitute an endorsement by NILNewsstand.
How can college athletic departments create more NIL opportunities for athletes outside football and basketball?
For female athletes and Olympic sports programs, building successful NIL partnerships often requires a different approach. Brands may prioritize an athlete's interests, creativity, audience engagement and ability to produce authentic content rather than relying exclusively on athletic performance or social media following.
In this episode of NIL Edge, host Sterling Randle sits down with Jack Liechtung, co-founder and CEO of Canopy. Liechtung discusses how his agency connects female college athletes and teams with brands in fashion, beauty and wellness, develops team-wide NIL campaigns and collaborates with athletic departments and multimedia rights partners to create commercial opportunities.
What This Episode Covers
✓ Evaluating athletes beyond their social media follower counts
✓ Matching brands with athletes based on personal interests and audience fit
✓ Creating NIL opportunities for female athletes and Olympic sports
✓ Building team-wide campaigns that reach students, alumni and local communities
✓ Coordinating with athletic departments and multimedia rights partners
✓ Canopy's work with Cal beach volleyball and gymnastics
✓ Using media days to develop content portfolios for athletes
✓ Developing personal brands that extend beyond college athletics
Jack Liechtung
Co-Founder & CEO, Canopy
Jack Liechtung joins NIL Edge to discuss Canopy's approach to creating NIL opportunities for female college athletes and Olympic sports programs. The agency focuses on connecting athletes and teams with brands, particularly in fashion, beauty and wellness. Liechtung explains how Canopy evaluates potential partnerships, develops creator-focused campaigns, works alongside college athletics commercial partners and helps athletes build marketable personal brands.
As NIL continues to evolve, the conversation around athlete compensation frequently centers on football and men's basketball. Yet opportunities also exist for athletes in Olympic sports, particularly when their interests, audiences and content align with a brand's marketing objectives. Liechtung explains why an athlete's potential commercial value cannot always be measured by follower count alone.
Canopy's work with Cal's beach volleyball and gymnastics programs provides examples of how team-wide partnerships can create opportunities beyond individual athlete endorsements. These campaigns can help brands connect with students, alumni and surrounding communities while providing participating athletes with content and experience that may support future partnerships.
The episode also explores the importance of coordination among agencies, athletic departments and multimedia rights partners. From identifying schools with strong regional connections to organizing content creation during media days, Liechtung discusses practical ways to develop NIL opportunities and help athletes establish personal brands that can remain valuable after graduation.
NIL Edge
NIL Edge is NILNewsstand's interview series featuring the athletes, brands and college athletics leaders shaping the future of NIL, revenue sharing and the new era of college athletics.
The series is hosted by Sterling Randle and produced by HPL Digital Sport in partnership with NILNewsstand. Subscribe for more conversations about the business of NIL.
Disclosure: This episode features a paid interview with Canopy. NIL Edge includes both independently selected editorial interviews and paid interview opportunities. Paid participation does not imply endorsement by NILNewsstand.
