To all universities, collectives, and collegiate sports teams:

You can change the lives of thousands of college athletes. Athletes who have been given an opportunity that can either be an impactful wealth building prospect or a significant financial trap. The opportunity for these athletes, the same young minds that you educate, coach, and nurture to reach their full potential both on and off the field are NIL earnings.

We urge you to prioritize giving all your athletes the education, guidance, and support they need to use NIL earnings as intended—to create a better financial future for themselves and, for some, to change the trajectory of not only their lives, but future generations of their families. For far too long, student athletes have not been able to profit off of their contributions to filling stadiums, branding universities, and entertaining and delighting fans.

Thankfully, on July 1, 2021, NIL changed all that.

Absent the right education, student athletes are vulnerable to making unforced financial errors with lasting negative impacts. They may spend all their earnings and end up with large tax bills they can’t afford to pay; they may miss major opportunities to pay down debts, save for critical financial goals, and begin establishing financial security. Absent the right education, they may become victims of fraud—in the same way so many professional athletes have— losing most or all of their money to illegitimate advisors or investments.

Accordingly, we ask you to install best-in-class NIL and financial literacy education in required courses for ALL student athletes, so NO athlete gets left behind—and all have the opportunity to learn how to responsibly manage the earnings they receive to improve their lives.

Collectively, we endorse NIL Long Game, the first Financial Literacy Certification for college athletes, and encourage all colleges and universities to make it mandatory curriculum for all athletes, with collectives, athletic directors, and coaches also committing to referring athletes with substantial NIL earnings to unbiased, personalized financial coaching to help them maximize the opportunity.

We ask that you join this movement towards responsible NIL education and take this opportunity to change the world for the better.