Youngstown State student-athletes have earned more than a half million dollars in Name, Image and Likeness deals since Jan. 1, the Athletic Department announced on Thursday. 

Overall, Penguins student-athletes have disclosed nearly $550,000 in NIL deals over the past 10 months. Student-athletes from 16 different sports programs have disclosed at least one NIL deal in that time frame.

The tremendous year continues momentum after YSU was recognized by the Horizon League/Opendorse as the top earning school in the league. The top three individual student-athletes in Horizon League NIL deals are YSU student-athletes.

Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ron Strollo said the Athletics Department has embraced NIL deals and that has played a key role in the Penguins' recent success.

"This has been an exciting opportunity for our student-athletes," Strollo said. "NIL has become a huge part of collegiate athletics, and I'm glad our community, Opendorse, and The Penguin Collective have been able to work with our student-athletes to enhance these opportunities. It's great to be recognized as the top-earning school in the conference. We look forward to the future of NIL and the chance to get more of our student-athletes involved."

Additionally, YSU also encourages its supporters to utilize The Penguin Collective, a third-party NIL entity that has been established to enhance NIL opportunities for YSU student-athletes.

For individuals/businesses interested in getting in involved in NIL, they can visit the YSU NIL marketplace at ysusports.com/nil or the YSU NIL resource center at https://ysusports.com/sports/2022/3/10/nil-index.aspx

YSU will be hosting a NIL educational event on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. in the DiBacco Family Leadership Center in Stambaugh Stadium. All fans and interested parties are invited to attend. For more information on the YSU NIL summit contact Tyler Burk at tjburk@ysu.edu