What began in as a small experiment in Salt Lake City and has since grown into a national program connecting college athletes with real estate licensing and mentorship.
Katy Cookston, who now directs NIL Real Estate from her Keller Williams office in Salem, Virginia, said the initiative was initially tested with athletes at the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. The program helps college athletes earn real estate licenses, then connects them with experienced agents who mentor them as they build referral business while still in school.
Athletes can earn referral fees when someone they send to an agent completes a transaction, while also gaining a credential they can use after college.
After the first year, organizers approached other schools around the country.
“After a year, they realized that what you can do once, if it’s successful, you can do over and over again,” Cookston told HousingWire. “So, they branched out — reached out to a set number of schools across the U.S. They reached out to quite a few, and about 10 to 15 reached back out. They said, ‘Hey, we want to do this test program. We’re trying to work with student athletes. Here’s what we offer.’”
Virginia Tech was among those schools. Cookston was one of multiple agents interviewed in the area and ultimately became the local agent willing to participate. The program has since expanded well beyond individual markets.
Cookston said more than 1,400 student-athletes have participated since its launch — representing 325-plus universities across the U.S. More than 200 athletes have joined during the current year.
An NIL opportunity, not an NIL deal
The program’s structure distinguishes itself as separate from name, image and likeness (NIL) arrangements.
Student-athletes receive mentoring and complete requirements to become licensed real estate referral agents.
“We mentor student athletes at any level and that’s the important part,” Cookston said. “They get their real estate license and then they are a licensed referral agent with us, so that they can earn referrals their entire collegiate career and when they get out.
“That’s why I always tell everybody we’re not an NIL deal; we’re an NIL opportunity.”
Participants can earn money when they refer someone interested in buying, selling or investing in real estate and the transaction closes.
But the referral income isn’t simply a fee for passing along a name. Participants have completed the licensing requirements and are expected to build relationships, identify real opportunities and generate business as licensed referral agents.
“They’re getting [$3,000, $4,000] and $5,000 referrals,” Cookston said. “They’ve earned it because they’re an actual licensed real estate agent. So, they’re not getting a check just for showing up and smiling and waving.”
Cookston said many of the participating athletes use those referral payments for college expenses — as they are not the ones receiving large NIL deals or having all of their educational and living costs covered. According to NCAA NIL Assist data for 2025, the average NIL deal was $5,594, not millions of dollars. According to Student Athlete Insights, “The average is skewed by outliers. The median tells the truth. Total athlete earnings median is about $1,031.”
A career opportunity beyond college
The license is also useful after an athlete’s collegiate career ends. Cookston said that is one of the program’s key differences from a conventional NIL agreement, which typically has a defined term.
“It also sets them up for success after school because you don’t lose that real estate license,” Cookston said. “A normal NIL deal ends the day they graduate college.”
The license remains active as long as the agent completes continuing education requirements, she added.
Cookston also views the program as a way to give young adults practical knowledge about housing and transactions, regardless of whether they ultimately make real estate their primary career.
“When you’re thinking about a 20-year-old, they’re eventually going to buy a house,” she said. “Their parents are probably going to sell. Their friends are going to buy houses. They at least have the knowledge to be smarter than the average person when they buy a house.”
The program’s focus on college athletes also intersects with a demographic challenge facing real estate. The National Association of Realtors reported in its 2025 Member Profile that the median age of its members was 57, while 44% were 60 or older.
For Cookston, introducing athletes to the business can also have a practical effect beyond the immediate referral opportunity. “I help families get condos and townhomes in Blacksburg [Virginia] all the time,” she said. “I mean, I do a handful every year simply because of this program.”
One national program, backed by Keller Williams
NIL Real Estate is not organized as a network of separate branches.
Cookston runs the program from Salem, while Keller Williams agents around the country participate as mentors — with Keller Williams supporting operations at the corporate level.
She estimated that more than 40 agents were involved nationwide at the time of the interview.
Future priorities include expanding the number of Keller Williams agents willing to participate. The demand from student-athletes, she said, is already substantial.
“I would love to continue to grow our agent count to get our Keller Williams agents nationwide,” Cookston said. “The athletes are not the issue. Clearly, over 200 athletes have already joined this year, right? Getting the athletes is not the issue; it’s getting agents to see value because we’re more of a mentor program.
“There’s never a guarantee on your return on investment. Now, I can tell you there’s a return if you work it — because I get referrals all the time in my area because of the program. But not every agent wants to mentor student athletes. This takes a special person.”
Cookston said participating agents have to be willing to mentor students and devote time to compliance requirements involving both college athletics and real estate. “There’s a lot that has involved in the back end,” she said. “We have to stay in constant compliance with NCAA, constant compliance with real estate and combining the two of them is a lot of work.
“Our program is designed for those who really, truly want to mentor the next generation, who want to give back. We’re really lucky that we have amazing agents across the nation who do.”
