Bayliss Flynn makes history with NIL deal
EDINA, Minn. (BVM) 鈥� Bayliss Flynn did not waste time after the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) announced it would allow athletes to pursue name, image and likeness (NIL) deals. The 17-year-old goalkeeper signed a contract with TruStone Financial in early June following her birthday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 truly been amazing and it鈥檚 all happened so fast like the decision came about maybe three weeks ago,鈥� Flynn said. 鈥淭hen a couple days later, TruStone Financial reached out to me and my family and then from there, we鈥檝e handled everything, signed a contract a week later and now it鈥檚 here.鈥澛�
I鈥檓 honored to announce the 1st Name Image Likeness (NIL) endorsement deal for a high school athlete in Minnesota working with a founding sponsor of . Very grateful for the decision allowing
— Bayliss Flynn (@BaylissFlynn)
With the deal in place, Flynn became the first Minnesota high school athlete to sign an NIL deal and she hopes that her example will help others who follow in her footsteps. A part of the deal focuses on teaching high school athletes financial literacy so that they have the information they need if and when they sign their own NIL deals.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely very important to me especially because high school classes don鈥檛 really teach that so I think it’s a topic that needs to be more widely known and more widely covered,鈥� Flynn said.聽
Along with the financial skills needed to optimize the new NIL opportunities in Minnesota, Flynn suggests approaching any contract as the reward for putting in hours of training. High school student athletes can have little time outside of school and athletics to work a normal job. NIL is a chance for those student athletes to be compensated for the effort they put into their craft.
鈥淭his is what all your hard work has led up to,鈥� Flynn said. 鈥淚 know training hours and hours a day doesn鈥檛 always leave room for a job so this is like your job and you’re finally being rewarded for those hours that you鈥檝e put in.鈥澛�
The opportunity to be this voice for high school NIL opportunities arose in part because of Flynn鈥檚 spot on Aurora FC. The team is sponsored by TruStone and Flynn originally made headlines when she joined Aurora back in the spring.聽
Aurora scouted her last winter while Flynn was playing with her club team, (MTA), when Aurora FC began to scout her.聽
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know that it would be possible for me to go play with them,鈥� Flynn said.聽
At the time, Flynn was 16 years old but Aurora wanted her and after two meetings with the team, Flynn was added to the roster. The experience has been great, according to Flynn. The training and atmosphere is preparing her for her collegiate career at the University of Montana, while some of her teammates have helped guide her through the business side of sports.聽聽聽
鈥淗aving Sarah Fuller as a teammate that I can look up to has definitely helped,鈥� Flynn said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a part of which helps athletes handle NIL deals and get them promotions so if I ever have a question I can go to her.鈥�
Fuller is the starting goalkeeper for Aurora FC. The former Vanderbilt goalie made history when she became the first female to play in a Power 5 football game and the first female to ever play in an SEC football game. Fuller鈥檚 experience with making history has helped Flynn navigate everything that has happened since signing the NIL deal with TruStone.聽
鈥淭he main thing that she said to me is just ignore the negativity,鈥� Flynn said. 鈥淚 mean, I know she struggled with it that first week when everything came out and she said just don鈥檛 let it get to you.鈥澛�
There are sure to be naysayers but Flynn has earned everything that has been given to her. The goalkeeper from Edina, Minnesota has been working on soccer since she was a little kid.聽
鈥淚鈥檝e just always played soccer for as long as I can remember,鈥� Flynn said.聽
Her father played when he was growing up and would even spend time in England playing soccer there when Flynn鈥檚 grandmother would go back home to the UK to visit family. Then around the time she was 8, Flynn joined MTA and found her home in the goal.聽
鈥淲ell my mom was very against me playing goalie,鈥� Flynn said. 鈥淛ust because it鈥檚 hard as a goalie parent with all that pressure but whenever I would go in just for that half and we would be on that rotational schedule, I loved it.鈥澛�
The soft-spoken, quiet Flynn found her voice in goal. She became a coach on the field, directing the defense from the box. Flynn was born to be a goalie.聽
鈥淚 fell in love with it,鈥� Flynn said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 stop playing it. I didn鈥檛 want to be on the field anymore.鈥�
Through Minnesota Thunder Academy, Flynn was able to play in the ECNL, the premier soccer league for club soccer in the USA. She watched older players from the club go DI and when it was her time, Flynn knew she had a chance to play collegiate soccer.聽
鈥淥nce you get on that ECNL path, as long as you stick to it, you鈥檙e basically going to go DI,鈥� Flynn said.聽
The Montana Grizzlies鈥� head coach Chris Citowicki had coached at Minnesota Thunder Academy. When he went out to Missoula, he made sure to keep tabs on Flynn. Once the Grizzlies could officially recruit her, it did not take long for Flynn to feel at home in Montana.
She verbally committed in January and will join the Grizzlies in 2023 following her senior year at Edina High School.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely the perfect fit,鈥� Flynn said.
In the meantime, Flynn will train with Aurora FC, try to help lead Edina back to the state tournament after losing to the eventual state champions, Stillwater, in the state semifinals last season and try to be a role model in Minnesota.聽
鈥淚 train a lot of younger goalies here and I hope I can be a role model for them,鈥� Flynn said.
