MaximBet Offers Female Student-Athletes in Colorado NIL Deal

As a newly established operator in Colorado, the MaximBet Sportsbook sought ways to connect with the community. It wanted to convey that it supported local athletes and teams across the state. During the research process, MaximBet saw there was nothing preventing a sportsbook from partnering with student-athletes.

The new Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal recently approved by the NCAA allowed student-athletes to reach agreements with businesses across the country. MaximBet saw an opportunity to be unique among top Colorado sportsbooks.

In September, MaximBet announced it is offering all female athletes at the Division I, II and II levels at universities in Colorado the chance to earn an NIL deal from the sportsbook. It is the first time any brand in the iGaming category attempted to partner with student-athletes.

“Something that is really important to us as a brand is diversity and inclusion,” Doug Terfehr, MaximBet Vice President of Brand and Communications, told Gambling.com. “We felt that so far with NIL deals, there haven’t been as many made available to female athletes, especially exclusively to female athletes, so we thought for all of those reasons, it was a perfect place for us to begin.”

How Athletes Can Join

To become a partner, an eligible athlete must follow the MaximBet brand on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Twitter and send a direct message with interest on the social media platform of their preference. Representatives of MaximBet receive merchandise and will be asked to spotlight the brand in social media posts on their personal channels.

The term of engagement is four months and includes a cash payment, plus an invite to the first MaximBet Max-querade party in Denver on Oct. 30. The two athletes who secure the highest level of social engagement will receive an additional four-figure bonus on top of their cash payment. MaximBet.com is one of the newest players in the sports betting space, teaming with the Carousel Group to create their product this year.

So far, responses have continued to come into Maxim as more student-athletes learn of the offer.

“It’s been tremendous,” Terfehr said. “It’s been exciting to see it clearly move around a campus and around an athletic department. When one student-athlete reaches out to us, and then suddenly three, four or five of them from the same school follow up pretty shortly thereafter, expressing their interest to sign up and become a member of Team MaximBet – that part has been exciting.”

The requests haven’t just been Colorado. Athletes from across the country have started to inquire about the possibility of joining MaximBet. NIL deals and legalized sports betting are still relatively new across the country. It’s the first year NIL deals can be signed by student-athletes, while states across the country are in different phases of legalizing retail or online sports betting sites. Some sportsbooks are new to the scene, too.

The MaximBet and NIL deal highlights two new industries coming together.

“I think both of these categories are basically in the second inning, like they’re just coming up for the second,” Terfehr said. “We’re both very young in terms of exactly what the industries will look like five, 10 years from now, so it’s incredible to see these two things now be available for sports fans. Our part is to operate a very safe, responsible sports book that provides unique experiences for our users. When we can connect to the local community, we’ll always do that.”