The Eccker 10 – Ryan Merk

Men’s volleyball is not a sport that receives a lot of headlines in the world of NIL. Like other non-revenue sports, it may seem like deals are few and far between. This narrative, however, can be misleading. Men’s volleyball has great NIL potential, and as NIL continues to grow, so does the market for athletes who play sports like volleyball. One such athlete is Ryan Merk, an All-American honorable mention who just finished his redshirt freshman season. Merk took some time to discuss his greatest successes and challenges thus far in his career, as well as his approach to the constantly shifting industry that is NIL.

10 Questions

Tyler: What is your greatest memory as an athlete?

Ryan: My greatest memory was this past season when we won our conference championship. We worked really hard for it. We trained every day, including in the offseason. We lift daily and spend a lot of our time working towards that so to be rewarded with that trophy and the bid to the NCAA tournament was awesome. It was also my redshirt freshman year so to win and to celebrate a title with my best friends and teammates was great.

Tyler: What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an athlete and how were you able to work past it?

Ryan: It’s hard being a student-athlete at a Big Ten university like Penn State. You have to succeed academically and when you’re practicing and lifting every day on the same day, it can be really stressful to balance that with academics. My first semester was difficult and I didn’t do very well, but I adjusted and my grades have shot up. It can also be hard to keep a balanced social life and have time to chill because you’re always working hard on the court or in the classroom. Balancing everything can be very difficult.

Tyler: Do you have any unique or hidden talents?

Ryan: I’m really good at video games. Call of Duty and Rainbow Six Siege are a couple I’m really good at.

Tyler: What was your first NIL deal?

Ryan: I got to go to the NIL summit. They Dmed me and told me what they were doing to educate athletes and help us network. It seemed like a great opportunity and they offered me a free flight during the summer so I figured why not and went. It was cool to meet other athletes, we got free housing, hotel, food, everything. It was hosted in Atlanta and we got to hear some awesome speakers like triple H from the WWE. It was a great experience.

Tyler: How has NIL impacted your experience as an athlete?

Ryan: It makes it better to be an athlete. If it weren’t for NIL I would have fewer opportunities. I have more to do after practices and it’s led to me learning how to do things like record videos for Instagram or Tik Tok, various things I never would do without NIL. It’s cool because the better your content and your brand are, the more money you’ll make. It really just adds to the benefits of being an athlete.

Tyler: How do you determine which brands to partner with?

Ryan: It has to be something that relates to me, something I’d use, and something that represents a good image of me. I would never partner with a basketball brand. I do volleyball. I generally look for clothing or apparel brands, or companies that can offer money.

Tyler: How do you educate yourself on NIL?

Ryan: At Penn State, we have an “NIL Guy”, so we can email him and he knows everything there is to know about NIL. I always contact him before I do any deals. They read over the paperwork and make sure I don’t sign anything without their help because you never know what might be in a contract. He’s been very helpful.

Tyler: How has education played a role in your NIL experience?

Ryan: It’s nice knowing what to do and what not to do. Having someone I can contact for help on NIL, especially when it comes to contracts and specific deals, is really helpful and makes the process easier for me.

Tyler: If you could change one thing about NIL and how it’s worked so far, what would it be?

Ryan: I wish it was easier to get deals of actual monetary value. A lot of times, companies just offer you merch, which is great, but if you’re promoting a company, you should be able to earn some money. I think part of it is knowing your work, but because NIL is so new and opportunities can be hard to find, you usually just end up taking what you can get.

Tyler: What piece of advice would you give to high school athletes as they start their NIL journeys?

Ryan: Start making content. Whether it’s on TikTok, Instagram, or wherever. It doesn’t matter if people are making fun of you, do it because it’s worth it. Getting money or free merchandise for doing social media content is worth it. You never know what will blow up and go viral. NIL can change your life depending on how you approach it, regardless of what sport you play.