Two Circles, the international digital-focused sports agency, has launched a new college sports division.
Two Circles College aims to “professionalize the name, image, and likeness [NIL], landscape,” for students and their colleges.
Nick Garner, former chief executive of the Every True Tiger Brands NIL agency, will serve as executive vice president of the new venture, utilizing his extensive industry experience.
Currently, NIL deals are the only means by which college athletes get paid - even though the industry is a hugely popular and profitable one in the US, with full stadiums and significant broadcast deals. Indeed, before July 2021, even NIL deals were prohibited.
The new Two Circles division will, it claims, “provide expertise in fair market valuations, effective promotional strategies, and world-class content creation.”
Garner has been at Every True Tiger Brands since December 2022, before which he spent almost 16 years at Learfield, the agency focused on college sports. He left that firm in November 2022, having spent three years as vice president of strategic solutions and partnerships.
He said: “By combining Two Circles’ data-driven strategies with my experience in this field, Two Circles College can establish a more structured and effective approach to NIL management. This synergy, complemented by our marketing capabilities, equips schools and their student-athletes with the expertise needed to fully leverage their rights.”
Adam Davis, North American managing director at Two Circles, added: “We are thrilled to have Nick on board. His proven model in NIL marketing, coupled with our expertise, makes this the perfect solution for universities. We are confident that with Nick leading the charge, we will provide the essential support and opportunities needed to help student-athletes and universities maximize potential and thrive in this new era of collegiate athletics.”
In late April, Two Circles, announced a five-year partnership with Juventus to collaborate on the top Italian soccer club's new commercial partnership program.
In March, meanwhile, the agency announced the acquisition of US-based content firm Let It Fly Media.
In terms of college sports, in late May the RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital investment funds launched a new private equity company to invest in that sector.
Collegiate Athletic Solutions (CAS) is described as a “purpose-driven, dedicated capital and business-building platform for public and private university athletic departments across the United States.”
May also saw reports that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body of US collegiate athletics, had voted through a decision to pay $2.7 billion in damages over 10 years to former and current student-athletes who had brought an antitrust lawsuit.
The Grant House vs NCAA antitrust lawsuit - first filed in 2020 - is now likely to result in that figure being paid out to the college athletes who brought the lawsuit, who claim they have been illegally stopped from financially profiting from their NIL, ESPN reported.
