Urban Meyer, Oliver Luck among group now advising programs on NIL for athletes
Michael Smith of the Sports Business Journal shares news this morning that Casey Schwab, who previously served as VP of business and legal affairs of NFL Players Inc., has founded a firm to advise colleges on helping their players navigate the name, image and likeness panacea that Schwab and others foresee.
Altius Sports Partners, led by Schwab, includes a bevy of consultants such as Urban Meyer, Oliver Luck, former Vanderbilt AD Malcolm Turner, Tulane law professor Gabe Feldman, ESPN softball & baseball analyst Jessica Mendoza and others.
SBJ notes Altius has signed two clients, LSU and Texas. A deal with Arizona State is reportedly in the works as well.
The article does not comment on the economics of the agreements between the universities and Altius. However, given the lineup of consultants involved, it is clear Schwab, and his consultants, believe there is plenty of money to be made in this space.
LSU executive deputy AD and COO Stephanie Rempe told SBJ, “It’s not so much about adding more staff as it is the experience and expertise Casey (Schwab) brings. We had the discussion internally about creating our own working group and then using our own counsel on campus to help us navigate this and to kind of teach ourselves. Or do we get in on the front end of this with a super impressive operation like this? That’s how we wound up where we did.”
From the SBJ article:
Schwab said there already are plenty of agencies looking to bring deals to the athletes.
“We see ourselves as helping athletic departments navigate all of those companies that are out there,” Schwab said. “You’ve got social media companies out there. You’ve got sponsorship companies out there. You’ve got agencies starting NIL divisions. Our role, as opposed to being one of the pieces of the puzzle, is to sit at the table with athletics and help navigate all of those pieces.”
We encourage you to head here to read the full piece on SBJ.
