Athlete & Parent FAQ

It means we help you build and run your personal brand as if it were a business — because it is. Specifically, this includes:

• Personal brand strategy: defining your identity, positioning, and how you want to be known beyond your sport.
• Content calendar: mapping out what you post, when, and why.
• Social media coordination: helping manage scheduling, formatting, and consistency of posts.
• PR planning: preparing for media coverage, appearances, and public-facing situations.
• Media training: preparing you for interviews, press availability, and on-camera moments.

Administrative support covers the organizational side of an athlete's schedule and operations: scheduling and calendar management, travel coordination, inbox organization and categorization, organizing appearances and events, and coordinating photo and video shoots.

What's excluded: We do not send outbound communications or responses on the athlete's behalf. Every message that goes out under the athlete's name is sent by the athlete. We organize and prepare — the athlete acts.

We provide business support that is non-legal in nature. This includes budgeting assistance and financial organization, basic bookkeeping coordination, helping coordinate the LLC formation process (executed through the athlete's attorney or CPA), and vendor management.

We do not provide legal or financial advice, and we do not replace attorneys or CPAs. We help coordinate and manage the process — they execute the legal and financial work.

It is not legal advice — it is project management support for NIL compliance and deadlines. This means we help athletes track deadlines for school-required NIL disclosure processes, stay organized around compliance timelines, understand the general landscape of NIL rules, and know what questions to ask their school's compliance office or attorney.

We do not interpret law, provide legal opinions, or tell athletes what they are or aren't permitted to do. That's what attorneys are for.

Yes — with important boundaries. We can make introductions, but we do not negotiate on your behalf. At your direction, we may share factual, athlete-provided materials with institutions or brands for informational purposes only, and may make introductory connections with your consent. We do not discuss compensation, terms, deliverables, or timelines with any party. Any potential opportunity is immediately handed off to you or your licensed representative.

We introduce, we inform, and we step back.

NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness. Since 2021, college athletes in the U.S. have been permitted to earn money from the use of their name, image, and likeness — through endorsements, social media, appearances, merchandise, and more.

It matters because it represents a real income opportunity for athletes while still in school — but it comes with rules. Each school has its own disclosure requirements, and each state may have its own NIL laws. Violating these rules can jeopardize eligibility.

Properly structured NIL deals do not jeopardize eligibility — but improperly structured ones can. Each school has specific disclosure requirements, and some states have additional rules. We help athletes stay organized around these requirements — but the legal determination of what is and isn't compliant should always come from the school's compliance office or a licensed attorney.

A market-appropriate NIL opportunity is one where the compensation reflects the athlete's actual market value — their following size, sport, school, audience demographics, and influence — rather than an inflated number that could attract NCAA scrutiny. We help athletes understand what their market looks like so they can make informed decisions. We don't set prices or negotiate — that's for a licensed representative.

Not at this time. Empire Agency Series is pending its league and NIL certifications. Until those are received, we do not negotiate contracts, represent athletes in deal discussions, or act on behalf of athletes in any negotiating capacity. We can, however, connect athletes with licensed agents and attorneys who can handle the representation side.

Always the athlete. This is non-negotiable. Athletes remain the sole decision-makers in all athletic, academic, NIL, and contractual matters. We have no authority to bind, obligate, or commit an athlete to any agreement or opportunity. We advise, organize, coordinate, and connect — the athlete decides.

Empire Athlete Management Series works with college athletes and professional athletes only. We do not work with youth or high school athletes.

This is a deliberate boundary. Working with high school athletes creates meaningful legal complexity — state athlete agent laws vary in how they define "student athlete," some extending to high school level, and any management relationship could jeopardize a high school athlete's future NCAA eligibility. We are not willing to put an athlete's college career at risk.

For college athletes, we focus on NIL education, compliance deadline tracking, brand building, and operational support. For professional athletes, our full management suite is available now, with full agency representation coming upon licensure.

Parents and guardians of college athletes are welcome to be fully involved — we believe informed families make better decisions, and we're transparent about everything we do and don't do. Because we work with college and professional athletes only, any parent or guardian involvement is in the context of supporting an athlete who is already at the college or professional level.

When you submit an inquiry through our contact form, we review your submission within 48 hours. If there's a potential fit, we'll reach out to schedule an introductory call to learn about your situation, goals, and what kind of support would be most valuable. We'll be straightforward about what we can and can't do — and if we're not the right fit, we'll do our best to point you in the right direction.

Submitting an inquiry does not create any obligation on either side.