CEO defends $800,000 NIL deal with college athlete: ‘We’re going to be on everybody’s minds’

John Ruiz and his company LifeWallet made national headlines in late April as they announced an $800,000 sponsorship deal with a University of Miami basketball player, Nijel Pack.

While paying college athletes for the use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL) has been legal in the NCAA for nearly a year now, the nature of LifeWallet’s deal isn’t an industry standard. Rather than leaving the financials out of the announcement, Ruiz believes their inclusion helps bring more value to the deal.