For most college athletes, finding ways to make money through NIL isn’t straightforward. While some benefit from brand deals, many are left searching for alternative ways to earn, especially those in non-revenue-generating sports.
At its core, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) is about athletes being able to earn from who they are and the success they achieve. As ESPN explains in its breakdown, in 2021:
“A combination of NCAA rule changes and state laws restored NIL rights to college athletes, and they've been making sponsorship deals ever since.”
But while that right exists for every athlete, access to meaningful opportunities doesn’t. Most deals still go to athletes with the most visibility, those in major sports, large programs, or with established audiences. For everyone else, NIL often feels less like a support system to tap into, and more like one that will always be out of reach.
Below is a look at online platforms designed to help athletes earn money that are available to students when NIL isn’t a likely option.
If you’re not in a high-visibility sport, don’t have a large social following, or aren’t already on a brand’s radar, it can be difficult to access meaningful deals. Even when platforms exist to “connect” athletes with brands, the demand side still favors the same athlete profiles: big audiences, highlight-reel moments, and consistent online presence.
So, what do you do when the system isn’t built in your favor? That’s where alternative platforms come in. Instead of waiting to be chosen, these tools allow athletes to take ownership of how they show up, create, and earn.
Opendorse is one of the most widely used NIL marketplaces, and for good reason. Many universities partner directly with the platform, making it a familiar and trusted entry point for athletes navigating NIL for the first time.
At its core, Opendorse is designed to facilitate transactions. Brands post opportunities, athletes opt in, and deals get executed. It simplifies the process and removes a lot of the friction that used to exist around compliance and communication.
For athletes who receive offers, it works. The structure is clear, and the payout is straightforward. However, that structure is also where its limitations show up.
Because the platform revolves around brand deals, your earning potential is tied to whether or not brands are interested in you. If you’re not in a sport or position that attracts attention, opportunities can be limited or inconsistent. There’s also very little room to build programs that compound over time. Each deal is a one-off interaction.
Opendorse is useful for athletes who have the time to pursue ad hoc deals, but most cannot rely on consistent income streams.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Buy Me a Coffee, a platform built around simplicity.
The concept is straightforward: share your link, and people can send you small payments as a way of showing support. There’s no need for contracts, deliverables, or polished content. It’s low effort and easy to set up, which makes it appealing for athletes who just want to test the waters.
In practice, it works best for creators who already have a tight-knit audience. If people feel connected to you, they may be willing to support you financially in small ways. This simplicity comes with tradeoffs.
Because there’s no real structure around content or engagement, it’s difficult to turn occasional support into ongoing investment. There’s also limited opportunity to tell deeper stories or build a body of work that people come back to and follow over time.
Buy Me a Coffee can greatly complement what you’re doing elsewhere. On its own, the platform rarely becomes a significant or scalable source of income.
OnlyFans is often part of this conversation because of the earning potential range. This subscription-based platform allows creators to monetize directly from their audience, without relying on brands or intermediaries.
From a purely functional perspective, it offers something many athletes are looking for: control. You set your pricing, decide what to share, and build direct relationships with subscribers. That model is appealing for some, but context matters for many student-athletes.
There’s a strong perception that creators feel pushed to compromise beyond their comfort level to attract attention. This can impact how athletes are viewed by coaches, schools, future employers, and sponsors. While the platform is not inherently limited to one type of content, the association is difficult to separate from the core platform reputation. Many athletes who are thinking long-term—whether that’s going pro, entering the workforce, or building a brand—can feel conflicted.
OnlyFans is also not purpose-built for sports content. Training insights, recovery routines, and performance education aren’t necessarily considered a natural fit within the platform’s core ecosystem. OnlyFans offers independence and revenue potential, but also can come with tradeoffs and implications that extend beyond the platform.
Ontheside takes a different approach, one that isn’t built around chasing deals or relying on one-time, one-way donations. Instead, Ontheside’s sports-only platform centers on the value of athlete-generated content to build community. Athletes offer content that reflects their everyday athlete worlds and the credibility that comes from their experience. Ontheside is designed especially for athletes to connect with and learn from other athletes. Content commonly found on the platform includes:
Ontheside gives athletes a place to share their passion, process, and progress in depth. Unlike once-and-done deals or donations, the platform provides athletes with opportunities to earn from their content throughout their athletic journeys.
Athletes can earn in multiple ways. While there are no ads in viewer feeds, revenue can come from pre-roll brand ads (similar to how YouTube works) as well as from subscriptions paid by fans who want deeper access to premium athlete content.
One of the platform goals is to shift the focus away from virality equaling value. Athletes don’t need a thousand followers or a perfectly curated feed to earn from brands and fans. The most successful athletes Ontheside offer content consistently, authentically, and with focus for specific audiences—audiences that brands want access to.
Brands sponsor content based on sports segments, topics, or target audiences. Sponsorships are not based on high-follower athletes or opt-in campaigns. Instead, Ontheside manages brand sponsorships based on audience and content relevancy. This is especially relevant for athletes in sports that don’t traditionally get attention or aren’t considered “marketable”. Over time, athletes are able to build one-stop digital sports portfolios. No matter when an athlete joins Ontheside, they will have an online resume of their sports journey. From just getting started to recruitment and beyond competition, an Ontheside profile grows with athletes as they progress throughout their careers.
For many athletes, especially those outside the spotlight, the traditional NIL path is unpredictable. NIL potential depends on visibility, marketability, and factors that are often out of an athlete's control. These alternative platforms offer a shift in that dynamic.
With Opendorse, student athletes get help navigating a complex NIL marketplace and can plug into brand opportunities. However, sponsorship requirements are largely brand-defined, time-bound, and transactionally-based. Others, like Buy Me a Coffee, make it easy for people to pledge ad hoc nominal support, but don’t give supporters reasons to keep following or invest more deeply in athlete and community success. And while entertainment platforms like OnlyFans offer direct fan monetization, they can come with compromises that athletes would rather not make.
Content and community-based models like Ontheside offer athletes a space to create and control earning opportunities on their own terms. Athletes with stories, goals, and causes can grow their personal brands, income, and audiences indefinitely based on their ongoing experiences in their sports. Success isn’t based on follower counts or viral moments but rather sharing unique journeys and perspectives that build credibility, community and impact.
For every athlete signing a major deal, there are thousands more figuring out how to make the most of their time, their experience, and their voice in different ways. As the NIL ecosystem continues to evolve, it’s becoming clear that collegiate opportunities are still relatively concentrated. As noted in this Forbes analysis of the current NIL landscape:
“Few athletes capture the lion’s share of deals, while most are left figuring out how to benefit from their platforms.”
Understanding these alternative pathways, and what they offer beyond money, like control, growth, and impact, is key. More student athletes are looking beyond traditional brand sponsorships and complex NIL deals to find sustainable ways to monetize their experience and influence. Whether through community building and content platforms, direct fan contributions, or subscription models, these NIL alternatives give athletes more control over their income, their story, and their future.