Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson, and Split Zone Duo subscribers have some questions for an NIL agent about how the business of paying college football players actually works. Justin J. Giangrande is the CEO and founder of NETWORK, a sports marketing agency that handles both collective negotiations and sponsorship agreements for players like. We wanted to know:
How does someone even become an NIL agent?
How sophisticated are collectives and college football front offices in their handling of player negotiations?
Will an NCAA clearinghouse to vet deals be a disaster?
How does the lack of public transparency about dollar amounts affect his job as an agent? Does this favor the players or the schools?
How do deals for name-brand stars differ from the boilerplate contracts you’d imagine for a backup offensive lineman?
What happens when someone wants to break a multi-year contract?
How has the impending but uncertain arrival of revenue-sharing affected negotiations with players of late?
Will revenue-sharing simplify negotiations?
How do agents educate players on their tax obligations?
Why should anyone trust an NIL agent, given that there’s no players’ union to certify their qualifications like in the NFLPA?
Do we all think there will be a players’ union in the near future?
Thanks to everyone for your great questions. Paying subscribers get the ability to ask questions of us and certain guests, and they can also listen to this entire episode. Start with a free trial!