'Huge would be an understatement:' Shane Beamer on South Carolina's in-house NIL agency
COLUMBIA — The South Carolina athletic department announced a partnership with NFL marketing firm Everett Sports Marketing (ESM) to create an in-house name, image and likeness agency.
The partnership is the first of its kind in NCAA sports, and football coach Shane Beamer is excited about the opportunities that will be available to Gamecocks athletes.
"It’s huge, and huge would be an understatement," Beamer said. "To be the only school in the country doing this ... and to have a partnership with (ESM) when you look at what they’ve done from a marketing standpoint with NFL guys.”
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ESM, one of the premier sports management agencies in the country, represents several high-profile NFL players in the NIL landscape, including Mac Jones, Jalen Hurts, Nick Chubb and Jonathan Taylor.
The partnership establishes an agency known as Park Ave that will offer management services to student-athletes at no cost. The agency will provide data and analytics to help athletes determine influence and brand partnership options. ESM also will assist with deal negotiation and procurement and will spearhead creative content development, according to a release from the USC athletics department.
For football, Beamer said he already has seen the impact that the partnership will have on attracting prospective players to Columbia.
"It's about what we do on the football field…but to have this available, and to be the only school in the country and doing it with a group that's at the top of their profession is already making a difference with the recruits that I've heard from," Beamer said.
Contact Emily Adams at eaadams@gannett.com or on Twitter @eaadams6.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football: Shane Beamer excited about new NIL agency
