Top Companies Providing NIL Education Solutions

The NIL industry is constantly changing. Will student-athletes become employees? When will revenue sharing happen? Colleges and universities are doing their best to adapt. But it’s no secret they need guidance to succeed during this chaotic era.

Let’s break down 3 companies that provide NIL education solutions.

Altius Sports Partners (ASP) has two sides to their business - college & brand solutions. Their main focus is helping colleges navigate the NIL era, which can be broken down in three pillars:

• Education - knowledge & resources for navigating change

• Strategy - guidance & planning for the future

• Execution - real results for athletes, universities, and brands

Part of ASP’s strategy is hiring on-campus personnel to manage their NIL programs. For example, ASP has a General Manager assigned to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Altius Sports Partners is actively helping college athletic departments prepare for unique models of governance. If the future of NIL means student-athletes as employees or even collective bargaining, how will athletic departments effectively adapt? ASP guides their clients on improving organizational structure and forecasting revenue & expenses with future changes.

Casey Schwab is the CEO and founding partner, with previous stints at the NFLPA, FOX Sports, American Bar Association, and NFL Media Group. Altius was recently acquired by underdog & company in November 2023.

Opendorse is an NIL tech company. They are well-known for their national athlete marketplace. Student-athletes can login to their Opendorse account and participate in NIL deals within the platform.

Their solutions are marketplace, compliance, content and education. Education solutions focus on financial literacy, tax prep, and personal branding. Opendorse education also has a course on real estate.

Opendorse was instrumental in helping EA Sports spread the word about the EA College Football 25 video game. Through the Opendorse platform, over 100 top student-athletes promoted the new video game. This was done through posting on social video saying “I’m in the game!”

The founders are Blake Lawrence (CEO) and Adi Kunalic (President). Opendorse launched in 2012 and HQ are located in Lincoln, Nebraska.

ADVANCE NIL is considered a joint venture with TeamAltemus and Anomaly Sports Group. The focal point of their business is NIL education, with three sections:

• NIL Academy - on-demand NIL and life skills education (can be accessed on mobile)

• Live Education - real world practical education with engagement

• NIL Advisory - strategic guidance and expert insight for athletic departments

Their courses, labeled NIL Academy, can also be purchased online and teach money (taxes), due diligence, contracts, and collectives.

A unique aspect to ADVANCE is their passion in helping high school athletic programs. If high school athletes have a strong foundation of NIL early on (and life skills), they will be better prepared in their athletic careers. ADVANCE recently partnered with Landmark Christian School, a K-12 private Christian school in Atlanta.

Founders and managing partners of ADVANCE are Courtney Altemus and Luke Fedlman.