In the football space, player representation used to mean getting players signed to NFL deals. It’s much more than that now that we live in the name, image and likeness (NIL) era. 

We take our job of helping people in player representation do their jobs better seriously, so I asked two friends and subject matter experts, Sammy Spina of Breaking  Into Sports (and Vantage Management Group) and Peter Schoenthal of Athliance, to join agents and prospective agents in a Zoom session, which they did on Tuesday. It was incredible. Sammy and Peter didn’t disappoint, and their vast knowledge of the NIL arena was matched by their organizational skills. We got to see videos, hear stories and gather tips on how to build a book of business. For almost two hours, Sammy and Peter presented information and answered questions.

Here are just a few tips I gathered Tuesday night.

• The best way to cold introduce yourself is to bring him a deal.
• Face to face is the best contact. Call or email when necessary, but getting in front of someone is always best.
• It is in the best interest of the school for your client to take advantage of opportunities.
• Be specific in your ask. Smaller businesses will be intimidated otherwise. Take away as many variables as possible once you know a little about the business or potential sponsor.
• Every athlete, no matter the school, has the opportunity to make $1000/mo. It’s a matter of knocking on doors and using your imagination.
• Don’t be afraid to say no. Naturally, you are looking for deals, and desperate to gain traction. Still, not every deal is a good deal.
• Even if your client has a limited following on social media, there are ways to make money anyway. Camps are one way.
• Collectives with contact info lists for interested vendors are out there.
• When it comes to what a player puts on social media, don’t post it if your mom wouldn’t like it.
• NIL is not about the four years he’s in college. It’s about the next 40 years. Really.
  

If you couldn’t join us, but still feel like the information presented would be valuable, let us know. The video is available for purchase, and trust me, you’ll want to watch it once or twice and probably play back certain segments several times. If you’re an ITL client, it’s $50 plus tax. If you’re not, it’s $80 plus tax. 

We’ll discuss the week in greater detail in tomorrow’s Friday Wrap, which comes out at 7:30 p.m. Register for it here.