March 4, 2021

TWO MD. SPORTS MARKETING FIRMS TEAM UP TO HELP COLLEGES PREPARE FOR NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS RULES

By: Holden Wilen

BALTIMORE BUISNESS JOURNAL

Two Maryland-based sports marketing agencies are teaming up to help athletics departments prepare for what is widely expected to be a seismic shift in the world of college sports.

While it remains to be seen how all of the moving parts will shake out, within the last year, it has become increasingly likely that college athletes will soon be able to profit from their name, image and likeness. Maroon PR, a Columbia-based public relations agency, and Rockville-based Team Services LLC recently formed a joint venture called Student Athlete Image & Likeness (SAIL) to help navigate so-called NIL rules.

The NCAA has been drafting so-called "NIL" rules since October 2019 and hopes to finalize them later this year. Simultaneously, several states have already passed or are considering legislation to enact their own rules, including a Florida law that goes into effect on July 1.

At the federal level, Congress is considering several bills that would set a national standard. The Supreme Court is also hearing a case on a dispute about how college athletes may be compensated which could have further implications for the NCAA.

No matter how the final rules turn out, it will be uncharted territory for athletic departments and student-athletes. SAIL will fill a need by partnering with athletic departments to educate the student-athletes about the rules and how the they can use their personal brands. The company will help advise athletes on everything from how to promote themselves on apps such as Instagram, to hosting camps and clinics while helping them ensure that they do not accidentally violate an NCAA rule causing themselves or their team to become ineligible.

"The value proposition for us is the actual people side of things," said John Maroon, CEO of Maroon PR. "There is a lot of value in being a third party that the school administrators can lean on to talk to their student-athletes and be a resource. When these rules come down we'll be able to talk to these young people and guide them on how to make decisions that not only benefit them but protect the school that they love and their image as well."

Maroon PR, whose clientele includes Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., brings expertise in media relations, social media, and content development. Team Services has worked on numerous major-level naming rights and sponsorship sales, including the naming rights to M&T Bank Stadium and Towson University's SECU Arena.

For the schools, partnering with SAIL helps them have a plan in place when the new rules arrive. Coaches can also tout the partnership as part of their recruiting pitch to high schoolers.

"It's one more arrow they have in their quiver," said EJ Narcise, principal and co-founder of Team Services.

So far, SAIL has signed agreements with two schools from mid-major conferences. Virginia Commonwealth University in the Atlantic 10 Conference became the company's first signee last month. University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which plays in the America East Conference, became the company's second signee this week.

"We believe having a group of experienced professionals like the team from SAIL will be extremely beneficial as we provide our student-athletes with the tools to navigate NIL," UMBC Athletics Director Brian Barrio said in a statement. "Together, we will provide the UMBC community with education and guidance as we move into a new landscape for college athletics."

Maroon said the company is in talks with about a half dozen other schools, noting that the announcement of the deal with VCU brought on two calls. SAIL has not targeted any particular conferences or region of the U.S. and is depending on word of mouth to grow the business.

"We do think there's plenty of opportunity to go around but kind of like any business, you start with the people you are familiar with and the relationships you have," Maroon said. "As we add to the roster, more people will follow suit." SAIL is being flexible with the agreements since the company understands many athletic departments are under financial stress due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Maroon said.

Maroon and Narcise emphasized that SAIL does not act as an agent for student-athletes helping them broker deals. Their main responsibility will be helping student-athletes figure out how to take advantage of branding opportunities to supplement their income and also set themselves up for the future without getting into trouble.

"We can take them through the mechanics of how a sponsorship deal works, talk to them about group licensing opportunity or the if the volleyball team wants to do a poster, whatever it happens to be," Narcise said. "The most important thing, the biggest responsibility we have, is to make sure that we keep these kids within the guardrails once they are set by the NCAA."

The service will be beneficial for athletes in all sports, not just big revenue-generating sports like football and basketball, The average student "gets a jump" in planning for post-college careers because student-athletes spend so much time practicing, they said. Only 1% of student-athletes play revenue-generating sports like basketball and football, and even fewer go on to play in the NBA or NFL.

"At the essence of this for us is education," Narcise said. "These kids have forever worked so hard at standing out on the field, in the pool or on the tennis court. They don't realize they have to work just as hard to stand out in their post-academic career."