YOKE Expands NIL Club With Athlete-Led Merch Launch

New Athlete Merch platform allows college athletes to sell custom merchandise tied to their name, image and likeness.

Apr. 10, 2026 at 6:52pm

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A high-end, photorealistic studio still-life photograph featuring a stack of custom-printed athletic apparel items in muted, premium colors, conceptually representing the new opportunities for college athletes to sell merchandise tied to their name, image, and likeness.The new Athlete Merch platform gives college athletes a direct path to launch custom merchandise storefronts, tapping into fan support and building their personal brands.Atlanta Today

NIL Club, the athlete monetization platform from YOKE, has added a new Athlete Merch feature that allows college athletes to launch custom online storefronts to sell merchandise tied to their name, image and likeness. The platform handles design, production, shipping and payouts, giving athletes a new scalable way to earn income from fan support.

Why it matters

The launch of Athlete Merch expands NIL Club's offerings beyond fan subscriptions and brand deals, providing athletes with another avenue to monetize their personal brands as the NIL landscape matures. It comes as more athletes seek practical, repeatable ways to earn without relying on one-off deals.

The details

Athlete Merch is the latest addition to NIL Club's platform infrastructure, which already serves more than 650,000 registered student-athletes across over 2,000 colleges and universities. The new feature gives athletes a direct path to launch custom merchandise storefronts, with YOKE handling the backend logistics. This adds to NIL Club's existing earning channels, which include fan subscriptions and brand deals facilitated through the platform.

  • NIL Club introduced its Brand Deals feature in 2025, which allowed athletes to browse and accept performance-based campaigns directly within the app.
  • Athlete Merch is launching in April 2026 with early access available exclusively to NIL Club app members.

The players

YOKE

The company behind the NIL Club platform, which provides athlete monetization tools and infrastructure.

NIL Club

YOKE's athlete monetization platform that helps student-athletes earn through fan subscriptions, brand partnerships and now merchandise sales.

Mick Assaf

CEO and co-founder of NIL Club.

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What they’re saying

“YOKE has spent the last 4 years building a robust infrastructure for athlete monetization. Athlete Merch is the next step. We've already helped athletes earn through engaging with fans and partnering with brands. Now we're giving them another scalable way to turn fan support into income.”

— Mick Assaf, CEO and co-founder of NIL Club

What’s next

Athlete Merch storefronts are now available in the NIL Club app for early access, with broader public access planned for later in 2026. Fans can visit AthleteMerch.com to support their favorite student-athletes.

The takeaway

The launch of Athlete Merch on the NIL Club platform represents the continued evolution of the NIL landscape, providing college athletes with more practical, scalable ways to monetize their personal brands and build a direct connection with fans.