Meet 12 Businesses Helping Athletes Secure NIL Opportunities
Disclaimer: Company descriptions and offerings have been provided by the founders of these businesses. Due to the novel nature of the NIL industry, it’s not yet possible to thoroughly verify these services. Furthermore, no questions were mandatory; allowing contributors to answer whichever they wanted to. This article is provided for informational purposes only, and NIL Network has no monetary affiliation or partnership with any of these companies.
By Austin Montbriand, NIL Network Research Analyst
Once a client of ALM, always a client. We stand in the middle and are a trusted face and voice to successful collegiate and post-collegiate careers. We all go pro in something and ALM provides the framework, education, and direction to maximize this financial opportunity.
Golf, Football, Basketball, Track and Field, Swimming, Gymnastics
Ohio, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina
Male 75% // Female 25%
ALM’s goal is to be the industry leader supporting student-athletes and their families with a low-cost everyday solution for financial, business, and lifestyle management.
Most agencies are in this to make a quick buck. That is okay, but that is not what we do at ALM. We roll our sleeves up to do what everyone chooses not to do. If you want help to be better in your sport, better in the classroom, better in life, then ALM is right for you. We develop relationships for the long haul.
We are the only wrestling-specific brand (that we know of) that was founded by active collegiate student-athletes; we were inspired by NIL opportunities and wanted to help support our collegiate wrestling peers by designing their collections and promoting their brands.
Wrestling
Currently from Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Wyoming, although our goal is to get athletes from all states.
Male 90% // Female: 10%
We want to continue to grow the wrestling community by partnering with collegiate wrestlers. One key priority is to focus specifically on women’s wrestling – to open more doors and help create more opportunities for ALL wrestlers.
Track record of athletic and academic success, positive role models, commitment to growing the wrestling community and leadership skills. Social media presence is a plus, but not required.
We would like potential clients to know that we are willing to go the extra mile and fight till the end for our players. What sets us apart is that we truly value our players beyond them being an athlete. We can relate to them on more than one level of life with a full understanding of what they need.
Football and Track
Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas
Male 95% // Female 5%
In the next three years we look to look to grow and expand our team and clientele to other sports. Along with being the premier agency for college and professional athletes to work with for representation.
We look to see if an athlete has the same values and beliefs as us. Along with being a great teammate and leader. Character is big for us, so that’s a major part in who we want to work with. We look at it as a partnership, and for it to work well we have to be able to work with one another.
HFSE is a unique model in that we specialize in taking college athletes to the next level while maximize their time in college. We are the only Sports Agency that has built in Student – Athlete Development and develops the college athlete both on and off the surface. We grow our Student – Athletes and continue to represent them into the pro’s whether that be athletically or their desired career.
Football, Soccer, Gymnastics, Rugby, Tennis, Golf, Beach Volleyball, Track & Field, MMA and Kayaking
California, Arizona, Ohio, North Carolina, Canada, Oklahoma, New York, Virginia, Illinois, Tennessee, Washington DC, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oregon, Alabama, England, New Zealand
Male 50% // Female 50%
We want to have 100% placement of our Student – Athletes in professional sports or jobs they are happy in.
We have two metrics we measure on. Their athletic ability coupled by their brand ability.
Deciding to have someone represent you can be stressful, that’s why our guarantee to you is Transparency, Honesty and Integrity.
We’ll take athletes from all sports but currently; Acrobatics & Tumbling, Basketball, Football, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball, Lacrosse and Track & Field
Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, North Carolina, Utah and West Virginia
Male 15% // Female 85%
We look for athletes that have a good personal story, strong social mission, credentials within their given sport and following on social media
We actually care beyond the dollar. We have in house circle who’s actually a partner.
Football and Basketball
Ohio
95% Male // 5% Female
Keep growing and adding more philanthropy
Wants to learn and step out of the box
We put a focus on creatively implementing brands into the content of the athletes we work with. . We take a unique, innovative approach to each NIL deal we facilitate, putting emphasis on building quality content as a part of each partnership.
Basketball, Football, and Lacrosse.
New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida, California, North Carolina, Maryland
Male 90% // Female 10%
We hope to innovate the NIL industry into a place where each and every deal and partnership has creative content surrounding it. In addition, we hope to help the athletes that we work with build their brands, so they’re able to take advantage of future NIL deals as well.
We look for athletes that are Out2Win — hungry to capitalize on their brand and hungry to monetize their NIL. — We’re willing to work with athletes of all sports, all backgrounds, and all tiers. — if you’re willing to put in the work and dedication, we can make you into an NIL superstar. With that being said, our niche in the NIL industry is content. In order for an athlete to be a fit with our brand, the athlete must be willing to be the center of content, while also being comfortable on camera.
We not only work with athletes but also businesses. So, we have relationships with businesses in which we can directly place them within our marketing campaigns if there is an alignment. Our team is also comprised of young, former athletes so we are able to relate in ways that some more established agencies may not.
Football, soccer, volleyball, track and field.
Primarily North Carolina in some manner, whether they grew up there or currently play in the state.
Male 50% // Female 50%
We would like to be able to successfully develop an athlete from having no marketing platform to being featured amongst top (inter)national brands consistently.
An athlete needs to be well-rounded and have a positive reputation. They do not necessarily have to be the most outgoing but they should be well-liked amongst their teammates and coaches. If the people they are with every day don’t like them it is hard to sell that to a business’ audience or fans. An athlete should have passions outside of their sport. (S)he should be able to communicate effectively and not be afraid to be authentic. Most of all an athlete needs to take their marketing seriously. We want athletes that view themselves as a business in this regard, because that is how we market them most effectively.
We are a full-service agency that takes a concierge approach to our athletes’ lives and careers. We don’t have any middlemen or Junior Agents, just dedicated reps who know our players, their talents and their goals. Our athletes often fly under the radar and we love introducing them to a national audience, helping them finally gain the recognition they deserve.
Baseball
All East Coast for now, primarily NJ
Male 100%
We look at the whole athlete, not just stats or projections. We want guys who embrace the grind (both mentally and physically), who have the right mindset and clear expectations, and who fit in with the personality of the agency. We spend a lot of time getting to know our players and their families and often find the best fit with those who are under the radar in need of a full service approach to their lives and careers.
Our agency is a team-focused firm that works in tandem with the client’s needs and goals. We make sure that each client understands every step of the process and how to own their career as an influencer.
We have clients in Football (professional and college), Baseball, Tennis and general fitness influencers.
Florida and New Jersey
Male 100% // Female 0% (With efforts to sign female athletes)
Help as many student athletes as possible whether they are our clients or not, we want to empower athletes to see the potential NIL has and how much influencer they have in driving the market.
We will always help any athlete that comes with questions or needs guidance but we sign athletes who are driven to work hard and wants to maximize their NIL potential.
We have a collection of business professionals with decades worth of experience beyond sport. We emphasize the relationship between strategy and creative, as well as multi-platform and traditional marketing integration.
Football, boxing, rugby, water polo, soccer, surfing
CA, TN, NJ, GA, TX
Male 50% // Female 50%
Normalizing scalable and actionable campaigns that benefit athletes of all levels and all sports.
Athletes with a long term-vision of leveraging their positions to make a genuine impact.
Our approach to NIL is differentiated through strategic brand outreach, PR and content creation strategies. We get to know our athletes to the core, and approach deals based on the talent’s areas of interest, geography and sport. We have years of experience creating compelling content for athletes and brands alike, paving the way for continuous brand development!
Baseball, football, soccer, basketball, softball
TX, NC, GA, LA, CA, FL, OH, NY
Male 80% / Female 20%
Over the course of the next three years, we have our sights set on innovative additions to the business, including in-house services that provide athletes with a wide range of mentorship services. From professional development and networking, to legal services and tax consulting, our athletes will be provided exceptional mentorship services that go outside the scope of traditional and digital marketing.
When deciding whether or not an athlete is a good fit to work with us, we look at a number of factors. Commitment to their sport and to their involvement in sports marketing is a huge factor. We also see tremendous upside in athletes who have core values, strong aspirations and demonstrate positivity. Athletes who have a strong social influence, typically find a nice blend of on-field success and marketability off the field.
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