The following is a press release written by Eccker Sports announcing its partnership with ALFCA. Eccker provides educational services on NIL to coaches, administrators and parents. The ALFCA does not endorse NIL or support changes in current rules or laws dealing with NIL.
AUSTIN, TX (May 9, 2022) – Eccker Sports, an information company for high school athletics,
has announced today a partnership with the Alabama Football Coaches Association to provide
educational services and resources to help high school coaches and student-athletes
throughout the state navigate the challenges that Name, Image, and Likeness contracts are
bringing to high school sports.
NIL, perhaps the most disruptive concept in the sports market in the last 40 years, has quickly
thrown high school athletics into unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory. Joe Briggs, counsel for
the NFL Players Association, recently told the Virginia House of Delegates that high school
students shouldn’t sign NIL deals because of the void in education and resources available to
student-athletes and their families. The ALFCA has taken a proactive step to help solve the
problem.
“The ALFCA is proud to partner with Eccker Sports to help coaches have a trustworthy source of
information to navigate the new world that NIL presents,” ALFCA executive Director Jack Wood
said. “NIL is ever changing and I know Eccker Sports will have the latest information that effects
our game.”
The fragmentation in high school sports across the country adds layers of complexity to an
already challenging NIL environment. For example, there are currently eight states that have
bylaws permitting athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness, 16 states are
considering adopting new bylaws, while 26 states prohibit it altogether. Add in all the different
school bylaws for high school and college eligibility and you have a situation prone for mistakes.
“It’s important for coaches in all sports to have the appropriate knowledge and information on
such a dynamic subject so that they can lead the conversations with the student-athletes and
their families,” Eccker Sports co-founder and CCO Tim Prukop said. “Even though a state’s
current laws may prohibit high school student-athletes from benefiting from NIL deals, the
issue isn’t going away. Kids will always need guidance and this partnership ensures that high
school coaches, administrators and families in Alabama are fully equipped with all the
resources they need to help educate and develop the most successful NIL strategies for their
student-athletes.”
Each school can register at www.ecckersports.com for an annual license that provides access to
all of its administrators and coaches from every sport. The comprehensive service starts with a
video curriculum of six module courses online that will educate users on the history of NIL, key
terms and concepts, and best practices.
Additionally, the Eccker Sports resource hub has the most detailed library of NIL information for
the high school market, including articles, state laws, abstracts, summaries, bylaws,
interpretations, as well as college and universities policies and procedures. Coach Assist offers
high school coaches NIL presentation templates, one pagers and other tools to help them
educate their communities. Finally, the company is building a network of legal, financial and tax
experts to help families in all states build and execute an effective NIL strategy.
About ALFCA
The Alabama Football Coaches Association (ALFCA) was established in 2005 in order to establish
a voice for the Coaches of the great state of Alabama.
About Eccker Sports
Eccker Sports is an information platform serving student-athletes, coaches, parents, and
administrators navigating the disruption of NIL issues and opportunities coming to high school
sports. They bring 60-plus years of experience mainstreaming new innovations in sports to help
high schools guide, inform and protect their student-athletes on their NIL journeys. Their goal is
to help schools create successful programs for their students rather than to represent any
individual student in the NIL marketplace.
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