At the national clinic for DFOs last week, operations and administration professionals discussed the growing need to hire personnel solely to oversee all things NIL. On Wednesday, Michigan did just that.
The maize and blue announced the hiring of Terése Whitehead as its executive general manager for NIL. The hire was made "in collaboration with" Altius Sports Partners, who recruited her for the position.
In March, The Athletic explained the interplay between athletics departments and third-party NIL vendors like Altius:
Altius hires and places GMs at the schools that sign up for its services, collecting a consulting fee from the school as well as the equivalent of the GM’s salary. Though the GMs aren’t university employees, most have offices on campus and work with school officials to tailor an NIL strategy to the specific institution.
Whitehead is not the first person to hold such a position, but she may be the best suited. A 1999 Michigan graduate, she returns to Ann Arbor after eight years as the NFL Players Association's Vice President of Consumer Products and Strategy. There, she "orchestrated substantial global licensing revenue growth for the organization's for-profit arm, managing a portfolio that generated more than $2.75 billion in sales, and fostering collaborations with businesses leveraging the marketing influence of NFL players."
At Michigan, she'll serve as the connective tissue between the athletics department, the collective(s) supporting U-M athletics, and the Michigan business community at large.
"My entire sports marketing journey has equipped me with invaluable experience, particularly in leveraging the individual and group NIL rights of professional athletes," Whitehead said. "Now, alongside Altius Sports Partners, I'm eager to apply that insight to empower U-M athletes in navigating the evolving landscape of NIL."
Prior to the NFLPA, Whitehead was the senior VP of marketing and brand development for the talent agency Tandem Sports + Entertainment, where she lead strategic marketing for numerous NBA, WNBA and MLB players.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.