Kentucky Wildcats basketball player, Oscar Tshiebwe, saw a window of opportunity and took it. While spending some time in the Bahamas alongside his teammates, Tshiebwe dove head first into the name, image, and likeness (NIL) game. Tshiebwe, who was born outside of the United States, has been playing with a student visa. Therefore, it has been difficult for Oscar Tshiebwe to participate in NIL deals throughout the country. Fortunately, during the week-long trip that was not the case. When you can’t do NIL “work” in the U.S. on your student visa … but you’re in another country for a week. Lights, camera, action. 💰💰💰 pic.twitter.com/YMbdLageud — Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) August 8, 2022 His first call when he landed was to his agent asking, “Where do you need me?” “He can’t do this stuff in the States,” Kentucky Wildcats head coach, John Calipari said, according to The Athletic. “Oscar, you weren’t there today, but we all get why you’re doing what you’re doing.” “He’s getting rich,”...

At just 20-years-old, Deja Kelly has been stellar to watch both on and off the basketball court. As previously reported by AfroTech, this year has been filled with first-of-its-kind feats for the North Carolina Tar Heels star including being one of the first athletes to sign a Dunkin’ endorsement deal and signing her first long-term equity deal as BARCODE’s first-ever female name, image, and likeness (NIL) shareholder. While Kelly has taken on multiple firsts, she’s continuing to add even more wins to her plate. The UNC player recently signed a one-year partnership with global sportswear brand Actively Black — making her the Black-owned label’s first-ever NIL signee — according to a press release. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Actively BLACK (@activelyblack)

2021 was a highly successful year for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes closing on name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. Now, for this year, Black college basketball players continue to set the tone. This is especially true for Zia Cooke. Data from Opendorse — a NIL technology company — released in March shows that women ballers specifically are the second highest paid in the organization. CBS News reports that Zia Cooke was marked as “one of the highest paid college basketball players in the Final Four.” “It just shows that we can do a lot of things that a lot of people say we can’t do,” she said, according to CBS News. “To see all the girls on there for the NIL and I think it was just one boy it shows that we can do literally everything they can do. It’s a business and it’s super effective for women and men.” Along with her hoop skills and being her team’s leading scorer on the court, the University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball star’s social media...

NBA player Bismack Biyombo has been an active source of support for his home country of the Congo, and his latest heartwarming announcement is no different. The Phoenix Suns center is donating his entire 2021-22 salary to build a hospital in the Congo to pay homage to his late father, according to Bleacher Report. The generous contribution was announced in a video from his charity foundation, which “creates opportunity for game changers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)” through athletics, education, and health, per its website. After initially leaving basketball in the fall of 2021 due to the loss of his father, Biyombo returned under the condition of him playing on the court being for a greater cause. “What I told my agent was my salary for this year would be going to the construction of a hospital back home to give hope to the hopeless,” he shared in the video. “And those individuals who can not take their family members out and want to be able to give them better...

We often hear of student-athletes securing name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals that lead them to thrive in their careers. However, learning of ones that specifically help others isn’t your typical story — that is until a recent partnership with Oregon State football player Alex Austin. The college defensive back teamed up with Access Scholarships and the Hirect App to create his own scholarship, the Alex Austin Overcoming Adversity Scholarship, according to Los Angeles Sentinel. I’m extremely blessed & fortunate to be able to launch my Overcoming Adversity Scholarship, created in partnership with Access Scholarships and @HirectApp The scholarship is open to all high school and college students in the US. Head over to the link in my bio to apply now! pic.twitter.com/7cvV74WJcK — Alex Austin (@kinnggalex) February 15, 2022 With the help of his agent Shawn O’Gorman, Austin launched his scholarship. According to the athlete, being a community activist since a young age played a role...

Looks like Moneybagg Yo is on to his next business move. AllHipHop reports that the rapper will be launching a non-fungible token (NFT) cannabis brand in partnership with sayBLOWE and Soul Creations Management. The “Midnight Patek Smokeable NFT” will drop in March and feature 10,000 NFTs. “I’m dropping my NFTs,” Moneybagg Yo said in a clip posted by the CEO of Soul Creations Management. “It’s only 10,000 of these. So, you better hurry up and snatch yours.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Leon Lewis (@wun.dynasty) In early February 2022, NFT marketplace SayBLOWE shared more details regarding the collaboration with Moneybagg Yo. Fans who snag an NFT will receive “real-life products” during the launch in March 2022. For more information, you can check out the companies’ Instagram accounts.