Bijan Robinson’s advice to young student-athletes was clear – be smart but be proactive.

The current Atlanta Falcons running back and former University of Texas star spoke during this year’s SXSW Interactive Conference alongside Texas track and field star Sam Hurley and volleyball freshman Ayden Ames.

“Don't be afraid of reaching out for yourself and finding opportunity,” Robinson said. “Because that's what's hurting the kids now. They're relying on one thing and getting money off the universities, which is amazing, but then you don't see them marketing themselves.”

Texas is one many major universities across the nation with a well-funded NIL collective, Texas One. But Robinson hopes that more athletes reach out beyond the university-affiliated partnerships. Both Robinson and Hurley are two of the most prominent earners in the state of Texas when it comes to Name, Image and Likeness deals outside of Texas-affiliated collectives. Ames, a product of Prosper High School and the 2023 National Gatorade Player of the Year, just enrolled in January and has yet to fully see the benefits of her own NIL but realizes it’s coming. Being a part of Texas’ national volleyball brand will open doors for her very soon.

Robinson went viral in 2022 for signing a deal with Lamborghini Austin and before leaving Texas, a personalized Dijon Mustard brand, Bijan Mustardson. Although he was initially hesitant to attach his name to such a quirky product, he was swayed by the uniqueness.

“It's actually something that people will take a picture of (at the grocery store),” Robinson said. “It makes so many people happy and smile.”

Hurley, a TikTok star in high school, transitioned his online stardom to college and signed deals with brands such as Amazon and Jimmy Dean and has reportedly brought in over $1 million since entering college.

“You don't see (current student athletes) have many brand deals, you don't see them have anything that can reach their full potential in terms of making money, “Robinson said. “Because obviously it's great to make money and everything but at some point, it might run out. Your opportunities will be nothing at that point.”

The NCAA made it permissible for student-athletes to earn money off of NIL in the summer of 2021. Robinson was heading into his sophomore season, and he signed his first deal with Raising Cane’s.

“Nobody knew what the rules were,” Robinson said when NIL first launched. “Nobody knew how much (brands) could put in and how much (brands) could get out.

“We’re still kind of immature and we're young. We don't know. They don't know if it's gonna work with the brand and if it’s a bad look or put them in a bad light, so for me it was a good start off because (Cane’s) supported me.”

Hurley had yet to enroll at Texas when NIL came to be, but once told Time Magazine that he would’ve likely skipped college altogether had NIL not been made possible.

“I think I learned a lot about financial, I learned a lot about money, about investing about certain things that I wouldn’t have learned,” said Hurley who’s amassed over one million followers on both TikTok and Instagram. “I've also got to teach stuff that I've learned to others.”

Ames admitted that she would love to see more financial and marketing education opportunities in the near future for high school students transitioning to college.

One of the other highlights of the talk was shedding light on some of the burdens athletes face in the new era. Robinson admitted that in addition to school, practice, film and his personal life, adding brand deals and deliverables to fulfill to his plate was a lot in college.

“There was a point where I wasn’t talking to my mom,” Robinson said. “I was gonna talk to her once every three weeks. And it wasn’t because I wasn’t trying to talk to my mom, I felt I was just too tired, mentally and physically. For me, there was a point in time when you know that stuff really, you start thinking like, Why? Why am I doing all this stuff?”

Off of that, his last piece of advice was for athletes to not overwhelm themselves, learn to say no. And also pursue things that they enjoy because authenticity plays a part in promotion.

“It’s because if it does fail, it doesn't mean you got to stop,” Robinson said. “You got to just try something else. Do something else.”