This Is Endorsements

When I first tried getting into sports marketing, I realized that the tools to be successful were being held hostage by the gatekeepers (old school agents).

I couldn’t find information anywhere on how to succeed in the sports marketing industry.

I didn’t take no for an answer and have been able to do some really fun things in the sports marketing world. From becoming the first personal brand coach in the NCAA,  helping negotiate over $10 million in athlete marketing deals from our startup, to launching an AI brand management platform working with several universities, and more.

I want to help change this notion that we’re all competing with each other and instead bring the sports marketing community together. That’s what is best for the athletes who are trusting us to help them.

This industry is now evolving towards the leaders of the new school. Information shouldn’t be something you have to pay your dues to have access.

Let’s give it away for free. Let’s build together.

Jordon Rooney

P.S - I know I said it’d come out every Monday, but Endorsements will hit your inbox on Tuesdays to avoid the Monday rush.

The Rundown

• Brand Outreach Isn't Business - It's Personal

• The Secret to Selling Your Athlete's Personality

• 2025 NIL Predictions No One Asked For - But You'll Want to Know

The “Unexpected Edit”

Videos where an unexpected clip (like a movie scene, trending video, or meme) transitions into a high-energy sports edit. Perfect for grabbing attention and showcasing skills with a surprising twist.

How to Do It:

1. Start with an unexpected or unrelated clip (e.g., a trending meme, movie clip, or viral video).

2. Transition sharply into a high-energy sports edit (e.g., game footage, highlight reels, or dramatic music).

3. Use trending music or sound effects to amplify the impact of the transition.

   See it in Action

Everything you thought you knew about sending emails to brands is wrong.

Professionalism will actually guarantee that you don’t get a response.

When someone gets a formal email they think 3 things:

 📃 This is a templated email. I’m not responding to this.

 🙄 I’m not reading all of that.

 🤖 This is AI (which has become way more obvious and obnoxious).

Treat brand outreach like you’re trying to win a friend or a date. Have charisma. Showcase personality. Add value. Make them feel special.

People that work at brands are people too!!! 

They are constantly getting messages from people asking them for things. Find a way to not be so overtly transactional.

Here are a few examples that have worked for us:

1. I reached out to Oura Ring with a screenshot of my sleep score for the past 3 years and it got an athlete a deal.

   • “Here’s proof I’m a fan of your brand”

2. You can also lead with a genuine compliment. Don’t force it. Everyone can tell.

   • “Loved this campaign and how you blended the athletes mission with yours”

3. Do some of the work for them and let them take credit!

   • “We came up with 3 ideas for you to partner with our athlete. I’d love to share the vision with you”

What’s a content franchise? To put it simply, it’s a series of media that has a consistent theme.

Think of your favorite TV show or YouTube series. Two chicken-themed ones are Hot Ones or Chicken Shop Date (We love Amelia).

It’s one of the most efficient ways to showcase marketability in someone who has not yet shown their personality, interests, or even used their voice in their content (which is unfortunately the case for most athletes).

Athletes hate putting themselves out there, but expect to get brand deals?!?!

Brands need to be able to see themselves in the content of the athlete. If all of their content is them on the court or the field and their audience only engages with that content (which is every athlete), how would a brand know what an investment in a brand deal could do?

A content franchise allows the athlete to:

• Create content on a topic they’re comfortable with

• Less commitment. Just pick one day a month and 4-6 different outfits. You can batch the shoot & can record several episodes in one day

• Create marketable opportunities for brands to provide partnership

Here’s how we did it with Miami Dolphins WR Tahj Washington when he was at USC:

• Tahj loved to cook but didn’t create content.

• We developed a series name (Chef Tahj No Huddle Kitchen) and tagline (Best chef in College Football)

• We bought a bunch of groceries and chef tahj shot 6 episodes in one day.

• We strategically launched the episodes leading up to the season 6 months later.

• This grew Tahj’s brand and season 2 was sponsored by HelloFresh!!

This is one of the best and simplest ways to help an athlete create content and become more attractive to brands.

Institutional funds, big money contracts, the transfer portal—year 4 of NIL is going to be a wild one. And while most yearly predictions shoot for optimism, let’s talk about the darker realities that will affect the space and what you can do to prepare for them.

These are our 2025 predictions of things that probably will happen, but we hope they don’t.

More agents will be looking to sign 13, 14, and 15 year old athletes to exclusive contracts—and they will. This is just wrong - no kid needs to give all their rights to a single entity before really even knowing what their future looks like. It’s bad business and a quick way to stunt their growth opportunities.

High schools (and yes, middle schools) will need to get better at providing resources for athletes and parents to get smarter about NIL. This is why we’re thankful for the agents who are doing things the right way.

There are already over 60 marketplaces for brands and athletes.

OpenDorse led the way and there’s only 2-3 others that have been able to even generate revenue.

This is way too many. I’d argue it has caused more confusion and friction for the brands wanting to get into the space.

Athletes don’t have the commitment level towards executing brand deals as influencers, so the marketplace concept isn’t going to be as effective for them.

But just watch—another marketplace is guaranteed to launch, promising to “change the game.” But the game has already changed. Now NIL is about outreach, creativity and investing into the athlete, not a message board sharing athlete deals.

If you’re a motivated entrepreneur, there are plenty of other ways to get involved. Do some research before wasting your money on LegalZoom for the LLC.

It’s gonna be hard for 7-on-7 and AAU coaches to see all the NIL money floating around and not want a piece.

While there are certain qualifications needed for an agent’s license, there aren’t any to become an NIL rep.

Coaches and mentors will need to be honest with themselves about what they can and can’t do.

These athletes are trusting you as their mentors. Don’t betray that trust so you can make a quick buck off their livelihood.

If you don’t know anything about brand deals, don’t try to manage a kid’s brand deals and risk violating that trust. Young athletes and their families will need to check who’s really in their corner.

The NIL Director is one of the most impactful jobs in college sports. Why doesn't every university have one? For those that have what I think is the coolest job (NIL Director), why aren’t universities giving them bigger teams?

Some schools are building out agencies and raising money for players, but most aren’t truly fully embracing NIL.

There’s still this “check the box” mentality around NIL, even though it provides a true recruiting advantage.  

What about helping athletes build their brands? Help them grow on social? You know…the things every school has said was a priority?

Schools that want to benefit from NIL over the long-term will need to commit by building systems and finding solutions to help their teams. Half-stepping won’t work for much longer.

Athletes ARE NOT Influencers. However, you can see a bigger return by investing in the athlete. There will be more athletes getting brand deals which is great, but the NIL departments, reps, etc. working with these athletes will have more to oversee. This means more deliverables, more deal terms, more logistics.

Athlete endorsements have changed.

You cannot just hand an athlete a creative brief and expect great results.

You have to invest in the campaign or else you will just be wasting your money.

Each great athlete campaign should have strong campaign positioning.

One example was our campaign with Tahj Washington (again) where we pitched La Victoria Salsa on donating to the USC Food Pantry every time Tahj salsa danced after a touchdown.

Salsa brand x Football Player Salsa Dance Celebration = Creative campaign positioning.

Then from there, you need to give them an adequate level of handholding and brand coaching to ensure the campaign will be successful.

Multiple posts with strict deadlines to post during the season? Usage rights? Don’t forget to collaborate! This is a nightmare for the athletes and those who work with them. Spreadsheets aren’t gonna fly. Without a proper tool to project manage athlete campaigns, the lives of those who work with athletes will continue to be more stressful than necessary.

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Overall these predictions point to one thing—NIL is continuing to grow. And with growth comes growing pains. But many of these predictions can be taken head on by putting the right people and the right technology in your corner (warning: plugging our product incoming). We’re the team behind JABA, an AI project management tool for athlete brand deals. We built JABA to help those managing athletes and if you’re ever interest in learning more, we’d love to get feedback on our product.