Florida State Adds INFLCR to Teamworks Extension as Athlete Pay Law Looms
One of the Sunshine State’s biggest schools is preparing for name, image and likeness legislation to go into effect on July 1. Florida State has signed an athletic department-wide partnership with INFLCR that will include the software company’s original content delivery and social media management platform, as well as its NIL product and service offerings.
The new three-year deal is attached to a five-year renewal of the Seminoles’ partnership with INFLCR’s parent company, Teamworks, the team-management and communications app used by nearly three-quarters of Power 5 schools and dozens of pro teams. With the extension, the FSU-Teamworks deal will run through 2026, and the INFLCR deal through 2024.
Financial terms of the full deal were not disclosed, but Florida State put its investment in INFLCR at $102,026 over three years, an average of $34,000 annually. INFLCR CEO Jim Cavale characterized that figure as “above average from an annual investment standpoint [and] how they’re looking at their partnership with INFLCR.”
The Teamworks cost is likely larger than INFLCR for the Seminoles. Purdue, as an example, recently combined its Teamworks and INFLCR deals in its most recent extension. The Boilermakers will pay almost $90,000 combined this year to the companies—the INFLCR add-on coming at a discounted rate—according to the contract, which Sportico obtained through an open records request. The fees for both services escalate annually, maxing out at a combined $119,000 in the sixth and final year of the extension.
The Seminoles’ athletic department will use a new INFLCR NIL management product, designed to help athletes and athletics staff. The system builds upon INFLCR’s core brand-development product, and will also help athletes monetize their individual brands (understanding fair market value, finding partnership opportunities within and outside of INFLCR, tracking transactions) while assisting on the NCAA compliance side through deal reporting and customizable monitoring features. Florida State will also get INFLCR’s educational services, which include athlete branding presentations, NIL-centric video content and targeted content for staff and coaches (particularly around recruiting).
“We’re really excited for Florida State to be one of the first universities to add this [new NIL management solution] to their INFLCR partnership,” Cavale said in a phone interview. “Florida State is really getting the full INFLCR offering, and it’s a big addition for us, with Florida being the NIL leader right now with legislation signed.”
The comprehensive “Apex” program will be available for use when Florida’s Intercollegiate Athlete Compensation and Rights bill goes into effect this summer. With the Florida State addition, INFLCR is now partnered with five Florida schools, including the University of Miami, University of South Florida, Stetson University and HBCU Bethune-Cookman.
“From Day One we will be ready to assist our student-athletes in pursuing all the rights provided to them under the law,” Florida State athletic director David Coburn said. “Apex is structured to allow student-athletes to maximize their NIL potential while in college and help them graduate with less debt, assist their families, and prepare for the next chapter in their lives.”
Since Teamworks acquired INFLCR in late 2019, the two companies have more frequently approached clients as a singular unit. For both existing schools and new potential partner universities, “if there’s already a Teamworks relationship, it creates an economies-of-scale opportunity for INFLCR,” Cavale explained.
The INFLCR add for existing Teamworks partners has become increasingly appealing, as the Florida State and Purdue deals show, as NIL changes approach. Florida’s NIL legislation is scheduled to be the first to go into effect, barring a federal bill, NCAA rule changes, or a court challenge. The NCAA has not yet announced when a decision on NIL policy will be made after it punted on its earlier timeline in January.
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