- Sports Court: NIL Newsletter
- Posts
- The importance of financial literacy within NIL
The importance of financial literacy within NIL
Not a fun topic, but an important one
Tariq Ahmad
February 25, 2026
Thank you for your continued support of this newsletter. Please share with anyone who would be interested in this content.
If you are interested in NIL athlete representation, NIL education for your college or high school, and student-athlete personal brand coaching, please contact me: [email protected]
Join the NIL 411 Slack Channel!
Join 1,200+ people to discuss NIL news, concepts, partnerships, and more.
Interested? Reply to this newsletter with your email address and I’ll add you.
Financial Literacy for NIL (Photo Credit: Financial Literacy for NIL)
With college athletes able to earn money from their name, image, and likeness, it’s important they manage their finances properly.
And this doesn’t only apply to those athletes making five and six figures from rev share and brand partnerships.
Even those athletes who are making a few hundred dollars from deals can benefit from financial literacy.
And while this topic seems boring, it’s definitely critical for athletes to have a good financial person (or team) in place now and for the future.
Why?
Knowing where your money goes
While athletes are seeing an increase in their bank account, it’s important for them to know how much of their money is actually theirs.
Having a good financial advisor can help you with understanding what a checking account is, how much to pay in taxes, and why you should always save money in case of an emergency.
Investing
Making your money work for you is gospel for financial advisors.
A good one will educate you on different savings and retirement methods (401K, IRA’s, etc.) and inform you on the importance of compound interest.
Tax benefits
As taxes were mentioned above, financial advisors can inform you on not only approximately how much in taxes you need to pay, but ways that you can reduce your tax bill at the end of the year.
Who to trust?
Do your due diligence
Just like most things an athlete is interested in, they should do their homework on who is a good financial advisor and what separates them from others.
While this is not financial advice: Look for those who are Certified Financial Planners (CFP), Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA), and Certified Public Accountants (CPA).
Ask around
If an athlete has a teammate or teammates that work with financial advisors, inquire with them on their relationship with said advisor.
Additionally, plenty of athletes will choose to work with their family’s financial advisor.
Reply