The news: Venmo announced its Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) roster for the 2026-2027 season, featuring a majority of NCAA women student-athletes, per a press release.

Venmo also debuted Money Moves, an initiative focused on turning athletes’ NIL paydays into Venmo payouts: Athletes are encouraged to donate back to their community through the platform. 

How we got here: PayPal and Venmo have been doubling down on college outreach to snag acquisitions.

• PayPal partnered with Big Ten and Big 12 universities to enable payments for student athletes.
• Venmo launched college-branded debit cards.
• And students at select universities can pay their tuition through PayPal.

Why this matters: PayPal is betting on Venmo to power its recovery. Partnering with women’s sports can give the incumbent fintech a shot in the arm for both volume.

After House v. NCAA, 34 universities across two conferences can distribute $20.5 million annually to athletes—a huge volume pickup if PayPal or Venmo can convince athletes to route payments through their wallets.

Implications for marketers: Investing in partnerships, especially with women athletes, can help marketers secure strong attention in a quickly growing market.

• Revenues from women’s elite sports grew 300% between 2021 and 2024 to over $1 billion, per Deloitte.
• US women’s live sports viewership is set to grow 6.9% this year, more than double the rate of overall live sports, per our forecast.
• And ads airing during women’s sports have a 40% greater impact on consumer engagement than a normal primetime ad, per an EDO report.

Social partnerships with student athletes also have other benefits:

• Brands get to piggyback on the NCAA promoting athletes’ games across social, streaming, and traditional TV for added brand reach.
• Student and alumni audiences are more primed to feel receptive to sponsoring brands connected to their home team: 44% of college sports fans consider sponsorships when making a purchase, per Big Chalk.

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