BEING in sports media for almost 20 years, spontaneity becomes a way of life as what transpired when I sent a text message to NIL Management’s Founder Zach Beebe asking if he’s available for what more looked like a conversation than an interview.
NIL Management is one of the biggest, if not the biggest NIL organizations in the US. According to their website, “NIL Management is a full service management and consulting company located in Columbus, Ohio. Specializing in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) & brand identity for athletes at the collegiate and professional levels.”
A bit of a brief background on NIL according to nyweekly.com: “Historically, college athletes were highly restricted from profiting off their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). However, this changed in June 2021 when the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reviewed the bill and now allows elite student-athletes to monetize their careers through sponsorship agreements and endorsement deals with commercial brands before they go professional.
“However, finding the right brands to collaborate with and make the most of NIL is no easy feat. For this reason, NIL Management takes the lead in helping these elite athletes make the most of their careers and adequately monetize their brands.”
When you say full service, you’re talking about a holistic service management of student athletes but NIL Management doesn’t serve just student athletes but also professional athletes but for now, let’s focus on student athletes.
A product of the University of Toledo, Zach established the business not to make money or profit but to advise, guide and mentor student athletes as they navigate through the endless and infinite opportunities and possibilities of the enormous financial abundance created by NIL.
When you say holistic service management and consultancy in the NIL realm, you’re talking about financial literacy, content creation, public relations, media relations, brand matching, image building, sports marketing and philanthropy.
Beebe, who was a music executive before he got into NIL, immediately saw the symbiotic relationship between music and sports and has positively used his network in the music industry as part and parcel of NIL Management’s core competencies.
According to the website nyweekly.com, “In only a year and a half since opening its doors, the talent agency has negotiated $2 million worth of deals for its clients with reputable brands such as Adidas, Lovesac, American Eagle Outfitters, Reebok, Hisense and many more. Additionally, the agency recently announced a significant partnership that will help transcend the NIL marketplace for athletes and their fans while also playing a part in Ohio State being the #1 NIL school in the nation. With over 50 Top NCAA NIL Clients such as Heisman hopeful CJ Stroud, TreVeyon Henderson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cade Stover, and Tommy Eichenberg, NIL Management is leading the industry in the country.”
Zach works with longtime business partner and lawyer Ed Brown who has been a lawyer for over a decade, he says “none of this would have been possible without him.”
NIL Management’s approach, just like in the film Jerry Maguire, is a personal, informal, and non-transactional relationship. It’s working together not working for.