In the course of the three years Jamie Andries spent as a member of the College of Oklahoma cheerleading group, she cheered at two Massive 12 championship soccer video games, the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Rose Bowl and the 2016 Closing 4.
And whereas the star soccer and basketball gamers in these video games — together with the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield and the long run N.B.A. guard Buddy Hield — had been forbidden to make cash from their athletic fame past what the college offered to cowl their attendance, Andries was receiving 1000’s of {dollars} by sponsorship offers with Crocs, L’Oréal, American Eagle and Lokai.
“Coming to OU for faculty was a giant milestone for me however it has given me so many superb alternatives like with the ability to cheer for the Sooners,” Andries stated in an Instagram post in February 2016 that exhibits her carrying her cheer uniform and holding up her left wrist to show two Lokai bracelets. “This month I help @livelokai and the Alzheimer’s Affiliation.”
The profitable alternatives for Andries got here due to her fame and a social media following within the cheerleading world — she is without doubt one of the prime “cheerlebrities,” as such stars are recognized — and since the N.C.A.A. and its universities don’t regulate cheerleading in the identical methods they do different sports activities.
Lengthy-held guidelines governing amateurism amongst faculty athletes don’t apply to cheerleaders, which means they’ll promote autographs, seem in commercials and put on their cheer uniforms whereas selling merchandise as social influencers, with out concern of being disciplined. In sports activities ruled by the N.C.A.A., athletes danger their eligibility to compete in the event that they interact in comparable actions, and their groups and universities will also be punished.
In 2011, for instance, a scandal erupted at Ohio State when several football players sold awards, bowl-game memorabilia and different Buckeyes swag to the proprietor of a tattoo parlor, ensuing within the resignation of the group’s coach, a skipped postseason and the lack of 9 scholarships for this system.
The foundations have additionally challenged some superstars to decide on between faculty sports activities and the business markets. Simone Biles, the Olympic gymnastics champion, gave up a scholarship supply from U.C.L.A. when the financial reality of turning pro made collaborating in faculty sports activities seem to be an excessive amount of of a sacrifice.
The N.C.A.A. has lengthy fought makes an attempt to loosen its guidelines, but is now on a path toward permitting athletes to earn cash from some endorsements, together with by social media offers. The shift adopted stress from legislation in California and several other different states, enacted by lawmakers who stated the N.C.A.A.’s stance was now not tenable given the numerous progress of faculty sports activities as a moneymaking enterprise.
New rules are expected to be adopted by January and to take impact in the beginning of the 2021-22 tutorial yr, creating a brand new market.
Andries stated in an interview that she understands why the present restrictions for faculty athletes exist, however thinks that the principles might be modified in a method that’s nonetheless palatable to universities — even when the athletes in the end don’t get as a lot latitude as cheerleaders.
“I do suppose it’s a great way for gamers to learn themselves and assist different manufacturers develop,” Andries stated.
Since its inception within the late nineteenth century, cheerleading has developed from yelling encouragement on the sidelines to a aggressive hybrid of gymnastics, dance and acrobatics. Superior tumbling abilities and the power — plus braveness — to carry out gravity-defying stunts are the norm on the collegiate degree, the place prime cheerleaders can attain a degree of fame akin to that of star quarterbacks, particularly on Instagram.
The most well-liked cheerleaders draw crowds searching for autographs and footage at cheer competitions, and develop massive followings by spectacular tumbling, high-flying basket tosses or shows of utmost flexibility.
Within the early 2010s, Andries turned one of many first cheerleaders to attain social media stardom, constructing her following whereas competing with a membership group in highschool. Her first offers had been with small firms that peddled cheerleading gear, together with one which offered hair bows that she designed and autographed. She now has 429,000 followers on Instagram, and her account has been verified for the previous 5 years.
As Andries’s follower rely grew, so did the offers. She has been in partnerships with Nissan, Amazon, FabFitFun, Colgate, SmileDirectClub and City Decay.
Andries stated that her coaches in faculty had no drawback along with her selling merchandise whereas carrying her cheer uniform; their most important rule was that she wasn’t allowed to overlook follow for out of doors appearances.
“Their solely concern was something that might have an effect on the group,” she stated.
Mackenzie Sherburn and Shannon Woolsey, who are actually at Texas Tech, had been featured within the Netflix documentary sequence “Cheer” whereas they had been teammates at Navarro School, a Texas junior faculty. They had been in a position to flip that buzz into monetary achieve, not like the faculty soccer gamers who gained fame whereas showing in one other Netflix documentary sequence, “Final Likelihood U.”
Woolsey, who has a verified Instagram account with 255,000 followers, has posted sponsored content for the apparel company Reebok, the study-aid web site Course Hero and the cosmetics firm Self-importance Planet. She will earn greater than $5,000 per submit by offers with bigger firms, and typically receives $200 to advertise smaller boutiques.
“A number of firms like tales of me sitting and speaking concerning the product and making it seem to be it’s not an advert,” Woolsey stated.
Sherburn stated that together with free attire, your complete Texas Tech cheer group will get reductions from native salons for providers like tanning and manicures. “Now we have to submit about it and say, ‘Thanks for caring for me,’ in return,” she stated.
Woolsey and Sherburn stated they didn’t seek the advice of their Texas Tech coaches about posting sponsored content material as a result of they noticed no must ask for permission.
“I don’t suppose they actually care, as a result of it’s such a giant factor within the cheerleading world now,” Woolsey stated.
Cheerleading doesn’t qualify as a sport, not less than not within the eyes of the N.C.A.A. and federal regulators, partially as a result of some universities have tried to circumvent gender-equality rules by granting varsity standing to cheer groups on the expense of conventionally aggressive alternatives for ladies. But some cheer groups get perks from universities which might be just like these offered for different athletic applications.
Some universities supply meal plans, small scholarships, entry to athlete housing, tutoring providers, early class registration and waivers of out-of-state charges. Taryn Burke, a former cheerleader and present assistant coach on the College of Central Florida, stated that the group there will get “entry to the identical precise issues as every other sport would have” and awards scholarships primarily based on a cheerleader’s ability degree, grades and seniority.
Cheerleaders might also obtain free or discounted merchandise because of firms’ sponsoring their groups. Jessica Pak, a former U.C.L.A. cheerleader, recollects receiving Vera Bradley baggage and NARS make-up by sponsorships that had been particularly tied to the spirit squad. The sponsors anticipated the gifted merchandise for use by the cheerleaders throughout video games and to be promoted on the spirit group’s social media account.
“I don’t actually perceive why that rule is a factor,” Pak stated of the N.C.A.A.’s restrictions.
Peg Fitzpatrick, a social media advertising and marketing skilled and the co-author of “The Artwork of Social Media: Energy Ideas for Energy Customers,” stated manufacturers have targeted on faculty cheerleaders for 2 specific causes: The cheerleaders can instantly attain a goal demographic (folks of their late teenagers and early- to mid-20s), they usually current a possibility for firms to faucet into the thrill of faculty sports activities with out N.C.A.A. interference.
“The picture of a cheerleader is sort of like Chevrolet and scorching canines and apple pie,” Fitzpatrick stated.
Highschool cheerleaders are additionally cashing in, with no danger of voiding their eligibility to cheer in faculty. Ryan Cummings, a 16-year-old from North Carolina, gained fame and 437,000 Instagram followers after a GIF of her making a sassy expression throughout a cheer routine in 2018 became an internet meme. She will get cash for posts on TikTok and, like different cheerleaders, sells autographed bows and has employed an agent to assist her negotiate offers.
Her teammate, Kenley Pope, 15, has had Instagram partnerships with Casetify, Novashine, Ivory Ella and Crocs, which paid her $2,000 for posts. Pope’s mom and coach, Courtney Smith-Pope, helps her decide which merchandise to advertise.
Smith-Pope owns Cheer Excessive Athletics, a health club in Kernersville, N.C., that has produced a number of cheerlebrities over time. She stated she doesn’t must dictate the endorsements her athletes settle for. “These children personal their very own abilities and their very own skills,” she stated, a sentiment shared by many coaches.
Woolsey and Andries independently employed brokers whereas in faculty to assist handle their endorsement offers, and Andries, now a social media supervisor for the attire firm Insurgent Athletic, nonetheless makes further revenue from offers associated to her reputation from her cheer days.
She stated she had realized in faculty that she bought “the most effective of each worlds” at Oklahoma.
“I used to be like, ‘Wow I get to cheer and I get to have this kind of facet job that I get to concentrate on,’” she stated, “‘and I get to make some cash that I can save up for myself to make use of after faculty.’”
