CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Bret Oliverio says he wants college athletes to endorse his Sup Dogs restaurant along the main Franklin Street drag steps from the University of North Carolina.

He is just being patient before jumping into a brave new world.

Like other small business owners in college towns, Oliverio is sorting out just what it means to strike an endorsement deal with athletes who are now free to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) for the first time.

“I don’t know if an athlete wants 20 bucks or 20,000,” he said, “so that’s what I’m trying to navigate.”

The NCAA’s decision to allow athletes to cash in arrived July 1 with a few restrictions and even less guidance. There is no “pay for play” allowed but many rulebook no-nos that once led to ineligibility are now largely fair game, provided the athlete provides some type of service — a social media shoutout, an appearance, a signature — in exchange for compensation.

Schools are cobbling together policies or leaning on state laws permitting NIL activities, along with having compliance staffers scrambling to ensure athletes follow guidelines.

“I would say it’s a beautiful mess,” said Kurt Svoboda, an associate athletic director at Michigan. “It truly is. These are uncharted waters.”

It certainly is for schools and for businesses assessing a market that is less than a month old.

How much is it worth to have an athlete endorse the local pizzeria on social media? What about appearances at a car dealership or tattoo parlor – popular subjects of past NCAA infractions investigations – for a fee? How much will those moves boost the bottom line, if at all?

That uncertainty explains why Aaron Nelson, president and chief executive of The Chamber For a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, said business owners near UNC are “looking to learn more before they go fullcourt press on it.” They aren’t alone.

At Lucky 13 Tattoos on Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia, just a short walk from where Virginia Commonwealth play its home basketball games, a framed Milwaukee Bucks jersey of former VCU star Larry Sanders hangs on the wall. Manager Bob Knox said it was a gift from Sanders, who had several tattoos done at the shop and still drops by.

Knox said his staff has put ink on a lot of VCU and Richmond athletes over the years, but he wasn’t sure about the value of striking deals with college athletes from a marketing point of view — even a popular one.

“Tattooing is different than a lot of other businesses. Tattooing is all word of mouth,” Knox said. “You don’t go where you’ve heard about, you go where your buddy went.”

On the table for athletes, of course, are deals with auto dealerships and tattoo shops, an ironic twist given some of the past infractions scandals. For his part, Knox said he was unfamiliar with the so-called “tattoo five” from Ohio State, who traded memorabilia in exchange for tattoos. Former Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor, like former USC star Reggie Bush, have suggested past rules violations should be wiped clean now that things have changed.

A number of companies have emerged the past few years with an eye on connecting college athletes to business deals, and they have been busy the past few months. To Athliance CEO Peter Schoenthal, whose company designed “disclosure and education” software helping schools review and athletes close NIL deals, the right time is now.

“If I’m a local business, it’s probably cheaper for me to partner with these student-athletes and use their social-media engagement to drive traffic to my business rather than put up a billboard pay for radio, do Google AdWords,” he said. “This is actually not only a more fun way to advertise, because you get to the be first ones in NIL, but also a cheaper and more effective way.”

Deals thus far have taken a variety of forms. Fresno State twin basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder reached an agreement with a wireless company. Kansas basketball player Mitch Lightfoot has endorsed a junk-removal service and a roofing contractor. A Florida chain of mixed martial arts gyms owned by a longtime Miami fan offered a $500 monthly contract to Hurricanes football players for social-media advertising.

Others moves have been smaller, with a clever charm.

Jordan Wright, owner of Wright’s Barbecue near the Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, reached deals with members of the Razorbacks offensive line as “Protectors of the Pit.” A few days later, the Wisconsin offensive line struck a similar BBQ deal of their own.

Wright started with restaurant gift cards as well as merchandise for compensation. He wants to work with as many Razorbacks athletes as possible, though he has expanded to a deal with UCF linebacker Quade Mosier, whose hometown is Fayetteville.