When I think about the newly-minted earning power of college athletes through NIL, I can’t help but reflect on what it might have meant for my dad and so many others like him.
My father, Michael Haddix, was a star running back at Mississippi State in the early 1980’s. He set records that still stand. He earned All-SEC honors twice. He dominated for a Bulldogs team that won multiple bowl games and even beat Alabama. He is a Hall of Famer and an MSU legend. He went on to become a first round NFL Draft pick. He was exactly the kind of college athlete who would have been showered with NIL opportunities.
The thing is, I’m not sure it would have changed his trajectory. Within a few years of being an NFL draft pick, my dad was broke. The guidance my dad needed then is still largely absent today when it comes to athletes’ finances. The college sports landscape has changed quickly in so many ways, but efforts to protect student-athletes’ interests haven’t kept pace. An opportunity to build generational wealth is going to waste.
We created Scout to ensure that new opportunities for college athletes to earn through NIL yield long-term success. Scout is a financial coaching platform and a tool for managing real-world finances (everything from handling your taxes to building a budget) that evolves as the athlete does. Our platform is designed to help college athletes plan, save, budget, and invest wisely, so they can earn now and be financially secure long after their college careers are over. We are changing the game by educating, empowering, and engaging athletes in an intentional way because this opportunity is too precious – and too precarious.
Protecting the financial interests of college athletes is something we understand better than most. As opportunities continue to expand, it's our mission to ensure those who have created them reap the rewards.
Tech innovation in the NIL space has led to the development of online marketplaces and compliance tools that are helping kids connect with deals and enhance their earning power, but what comes next? What happens when you give an 18-year old kid with minimal personal finance experience a $1M NIL deal? How do we make sure this isn’t just a lottery ticket that gets cashed in immediately, but rather an investment with long-term, generational benefits – regardless of whether they ever earn a pro contract? With Scout, we plan, we prepare, and we fight to make you a millionaire for life. We strive to make sure that this opportunity is never lost.
We are committed to breaking the cycle of financial mismanagement that plagued athletes like my dad – and generations of others – and give college athletes the tools and knowledge to benefit from NIL opportunities now and in the future.
Interested in learning how Scout can help you or your college athletic program? Contact mike@elevatewith.com and visit us at investwithscout.com.
Scout is a financial coaching platform that provides student-athletes with the knowledge and tools to facilitate personal financial success — from investing and saving to budgeting and tax-planning. We work with individual athletes, college teams and athletic programs to empower and protect students in the changing NIL landscape. Black-led, with a deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Scout is intentional about welcoming, educating, and guiding those from under resourced and marginalized communities.
