Our First D3 NIL Deal!
The details of the deal and how to apply
👋 Welcome Back to the D3Direct Newsletter, your go-to source for reliable D3 college recruiting & admissions information.
Today, we are launching our first-ever NIL deal for D3 Athletes. As always, this is part of our mission to help students pay less & get a great education while playing their sport at an NCAA D3 school.
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We’re Launching an NIL deal for D3 Athletes
We’ve spent four years writing about NIL at the Division III level — what it looks like, who’s doing it right, and why most D3 athletes are leaving money on the table. This summer, we’re not just writing about it anymore.
With some help from Opendorse, we are launching a paid NIL campaign with 2–3 current D3 athletes to promote the D3 Recruiting Playbook and our 1:1 recruiting consulting offerings.
If you’re a D3 athlete with a real, engaged following and a recruiting story worth telling — this one is for you.
More details on how to apply at the end of the post.
What the deal looks like
We’re not looking for the most-followed athlete at the biggest school. We’re looking for D3 athletes who have built something genuine — an audience that trusts them, on whatever platform they’re strongest on.
Here’s what’s included for each athlete:
D3 Athlete ($150 each): 2 feed posts, 2 stories or short-form videos, Playbook link in bio for 30 days, usage rights on content.
Each athlete will get a unique promo code to share with their audience — giving followers a discount and giving us a way to track what’s working.
The ask is simple: share your recruiting story, point your audience to the D3 Recruiting Playbook, and get paid for the reach you’ve already built.
Not a college athlete yet?
The D3 Recruiting Playbook is built for high school student-athletes navigating the recruiting process right now.
Step by step, from first contact to commitment day.
Use code D3DIRECT for 50% off until 8/1
Why we’re doing this
NIL exists at every level of college athletics - including Division III. D3 athletes have had the same rights as everyone else since July 2021. The difference is that most of the brands and organizations running NIL deals aren’t looking at D3 schools or athletes.
We think that’s wrong. And we’re doing something about it.
D3Direct has been covering NIL at the D3 level since before most people knew it applied here. The through line in all of it: NIL rewards athletes who are organized, proactive, and willing to build before an opportunity finds them.
This campaign is the version of that we can build right now. We’re starting with $500, 2–3 athletes, and a belief that D3 athletes deserve to be compensated for the audiences they’ve worked to build.
Who we’re looking for
You don’t need 100,000 followers. You need an audience that listens to you.
The ideal D3Direct NIL partner is a current D3 athlete who:
Has an active presence on at least one platform (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube — wherever you’re strongest)
Has gone through the D3 recruiting process and has a story to tell about it
Can speak authentically about why D3 was the right choice
Is comfortable creating content that promotes a product they actually believe in
We’ll ask you to share your handle, your approximate follower count and engagement rate, and a one-paragraph version of your recruiting story. That’s it for the application.
How to Apply
We are running all three deals through Opendorse. Here’s the link:
Once you complete your application there, send us email founder@d3-direct.com with the subject line D3 NIL 2026 to tell us your story:
Your name, sport, and school
Your platform handle(s) and follower count
A one-paragraph version of your D3 recruiting story
Any brand deals or content partnerships you’ve done before (if available)
Results of the above (if available)
Applications close August 15. We’ll follow up with everyone who applies.
Want to learn more about D3 NIL? Here is some of our previous work: