Top 10 Softball Stories of the Year: #2… NIL Deals Continue in College, Enter High School & Travel Ball Spaces

BY Brentt Eads

Get access to even more Extra Inning Softball content!

Robb Behymer of Top Gun Events presented a check his year to 2023 grad Landry Cochran who signed with NCAA D2 school Drury University. Top Gun and The Collective Engine partnered to provide more NIL opportunities to support student-athletes.

We continue our list of the Top 10 Softball Stories of 2023... the list will run daily through Jan. 1, 2024, when we’ll present the top story of the year. The day after New Year’s Day 2024, we’ll recap the Top 10 one last time, as well as note others that were also considered for the list.

In order to compile this Top 10 list, we considered what were the most impactful and relevant stories of the year and which news headlines or feature story or human interest spotlights pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball caught our attention.

Each day, you can also read in full one of the articles we originally published pertaining to that day’s topic.

Previous Top 10 Softball Stories of 2023

*****

Top 10 Softball Stories of the Year: #2… NIL Deals Continue in College, Enter High School & Club Spaces

It was our No. 1 story of last year… 2022… and the Name Image Likeness (NIL) deals and partnerships continued to roll on in 2023.

*** Click HERE to read our story on NIL’s from Jan. 1, 2023

As part of my write-up for the explosive growth of NIL’s, here’s what I wrote about the big change and why it’s been so impactful:

Montana Fouts was one of the first big names in college softball to receive an NIL deal.

When the NCAA regulations around Name, Image, and Likeness changed to allow college athletes to benefit, one of the first and loudest questions was whether or not the rule change would have any trickle-down effect. In simpler, more blunt terms, it was obvious that college football players and the best among men’s and women’s basketball stars would benefit, but would other college athletes be able to boast similar advantages?

Perhaps not en masse, but the answer to that question turned out to be a yes. College softball has seen a number of benefits and influences from the NIL regulations. Some of those same influences have mirrored other sports after all – NIL has become a consideration in the wooing of big-name transfers, for one thing. No longer is a program able to highlight simply their biggest attributes to win a player; now an NIL consideration is frequently part of the pitch, as well.

In addition to individual players’ success with NIL, team-wide NIL deals have also picked up some steam this year. Oklahoma softball is included as beneficiaries in the athletics collective in Norman, benefitting from the same pool as Sooner football and basketball stars. Other schools, including Oklahoma State; Texas Tech; and Arkansas have also seen their full rosters sign NIL agreements with different businesses and collectives.

Alabama pitcher Montana Fouts maintains her status as one of the most successful female athletes in terms of NIL. Fouts’ Cameo page, where she frequently sends personalized video messages to fans that order them, is just one of several projects within the Crimson Tide senior’s NIL portfolio.

NIL is here to say, that fact is sure. Whether or not you’re in favor of NIL’s advancements or still pine for the days before NIL existed, that we can discuss the rule’s effect on college softball is yet another in a long line of signs of the sport’s growth and mainstream emergence.

In college football alone, we’ve seen Power 5 starting players transfer and the reason believed to be, in some cases, was for more lucrative NIL deals. It was mentioned at one point that the price to get a top DI quarterback transfer was about $1.5 million (structured under the umbrella of Name Image Likeness deals).

What’s crazy to consider, especially when considering the financial situation not that long ago in college sports, is that now these NIL deals are trickling down to the high school and travel ball levels, too.

We published several of them over the course of 2023, a few of which you can see below this article which was, in itself, a perfect example of how a standout prep and club player received an NLI deal.

— Brentt Eads

*****

Originally published Nov. 26, 2023

Florida State Commit & 2025 Extra Elite 100 Shortstop Harlie Chism Lands NIL Deal

Harlie Chism is pictured here with her father, Toby Chism, while the 2025 grad on the Florida State University campus. The 2025 Extra Elite 100 shortstop has signed an NIL deal with The Collective Edge, which also represents Jordy Bahl.

Harlie Chism, a junior from Weatherford (Okla.) High School, has signed a Name Image Likeness (NIL) deal with The Collective Engine (TCE), Top Gun Events announced on Friday.

Chism, a 2025 Florida State commit, plays for the Oklahoma Athletics National 2024 team coached by Brian Madden and Terry Clemmer.

“It’s a great way to market yourself and get your name out there for when softball does end,” said Chism.

Here are some clips of Harlie from earlier this year:

TCE, which offers marketing and branding services focusing on the athlete’s success off the field, is run by Tony Wyllie who has more than 27-years of experience in sports management including serving as the Senior Vice President of Communications for the Washington Redskins organization.

In August of 2023, Top Gun Events and The Collective Engine announced a partnership to support student-athletes in achieving their NIL goals.

thank you @tce_agency for giving me this opportunity!

@AsNational2024 @OKAthleticsAcad @toby_chism_nsr @FSU_Softball @Coach_Alameda @FSU_CoachWilson @TCam_FSUSB @KaleighRafter pic.twitter.com/Skbs86XB4D

— Harlie Chism (@HarlieChism) November 17, 2023

Chism’s NIL deal came about through her club coaches.

“Coach Madden reached out to my Dad (Toby Chism) and I and said it would be a great opportunity,” the infielder explained.

One of the influential factors in Chism going with TCE was the earlier signing of college star pitcher Jordy Bahl.

It was an opportunity too good to pass up for the future Seminole who was swayed in large part to sign with The Collective Engine because the earlier signing of two-time NCAA D1 championship pitcher, Jordy Bahl, who signed a deal with The Collective Engine earlier this year.

“It stood out to me that TCE had just signed Jordy Bahl,” said Chrism when asked about why she went with TCE.

Not all states allow high school athletes to sign NIL deals. Unlike college athletics, there is no national governing body for high school sports. As of April 2023, 25 states allow some form of NIL monetization at the high school level.

The Oklahoma Secondary Activities Association approved NIL guidelines in October of 2022 giving Chism the opportunity to sign NIL deals while she is in still in high school.

The 2025 grad has taken full advantage and has signed multiple NIL deals. She has another NIL deal with a local gym where she works out and said she wasn’t proactively looking for deals, but has come from marketing her passions on social media and exploring other possibilities in her hometown.

What is Chism’s advice for other athletes that might be looking for NIL deals?

“Don’t be intimidated by big things coming at you,” she concludes. “Don’t be scared to get right into it. You have to learn how to be outgoing and communicate.”

More info from Extra Inning Softball this year on the Seminole commit:

*** Note: Writer Rob Else contributed to this article which was published with the permission of Top Gun Events and its partner The Collective Edge.

Here are some of the other articles from 2023 that covered NIL partnerships:

SUBSCRIBE

Check out our other EIS links:

Find us on Instagram ~~~ Find us on Twitter ~~~ Find us on FacebookEIS Online Store ~~~ Sign up for our Newsletter ~~~ Check out our Team SubscriptionsCheck out our latest Podcasts ~~~ Advertise with Us! Check out our Rate Card

Follow us on social media

Inside Pitch

Subscribe To Our Weekly Newsletter

Name*
First Last
Email*
When do you want to get Extra Inning news updates?*
- Daily
- Weekly
- I don't want to receive updates via email.
CAPTCHA