Recently, big brands like Nike, Adidas, Red Bull, and others are partnering with college and high school students for advertising and marketing purposes. Mostly Gen Z kids, these chosen and employed teens are making up to 2,000 dollars for every social media post, the brand they are advertising hoping that their followers will help generate high profit.

Many popular athletic brands, energy drinks, and lifestyle businesses are partnering with high school students and signing endorsement deals. As brands such as Nike, Adidas, and RedBull were previously known for partnering with famous athletes like Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi, and others, they have now taken a turn and looked to younger athletes who are less well-known on television, and more on social media. They hope that dedicated followers will be induced into purchasing their product if their influencer supports them.

Brands are benefitting from this in numerous ways. They are getting more people to advertise their products, and getting more people to buy their stuff, while also getting  advice on what is considered “cool” in the modern age. They are getting useful info about what their target customers are willing to pay for and what is within the latest “trends”. 

These deals are restricted in a few places, but most states have taken hold of the idea and are embracing it. States that do not allow teenage partnerships  are Alabama, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, and a few others. However, around 40 U.S. high schools allow their athlete students to sign name, image, and likeness deals.

Since these “jobs” pay better than your typical minimum wage work, students are even more compelled to be a part of it. Freshman Ellie Heil said, “If I were offered a job promoting brands on social media I would take the job. Getting paid that much is way more than working a bunch of hours at minimum wage, and it would probably give me more time to focus on school and especially sports. As a student and athlete, time matters, and this kind of opportunity could help me save money for college while still doing what I love. As long as what I’m promoting is something I believe in and doesn’t mess with my priorities, then I would definitely take this opportunity.”

Junior Curtis Ragsdale said, “I would definitely take that over a minimum wage job because if you made one post every day, you’d make way more per day than working 24 hour shifts at  minimum wage. That definitely sounds like a better deal.”

Both of these students say how much better this employment option sounds, and how much they would rather do this than a typical job that people around the high school age work for.

This deal is definitely way more appealing to student athletes, which explains how this is made possible by the brands and high schools.