Sports are still about games, teams, and communities. But the business around them has changed fast. NIL, revenue sharing, transfer rules, youth sports, social media, and brand deals are now part of the same conversation.
Eric Kasimov talks with Brent Wall, co-founder and CEO of Student Athlete Score, about the new world of athlete branding and NIL. Brent explains how schools, athletes, and brands are using data to understand social reach, campaign value, and real ROI.
They also get into the pressure this creates for young athletes. A kid can be talented, but now exposure, content, and personal brand all matter too. That reality is messy. It is also where opportunity is being built.
What Brent Wall and Eric Discuss:
- Why college sports is becoming more commercialized
- What Student Athlete Score does for schools, athletes, and brands
- How NIL deals are moving from chaos toward data and compliance
- Why local and regional brand deals matter
- The role of Instagram, TikTok, and X in athlete value
- Why follower counts alone are not enough
- How youth athletes are being pushed to think about personal brand
- Donor fatigue and the ROI problem in NIL
- Transfer portal chaos and the proposed five-and-five rule
- >What happens to Olympic sports and non-revenue sports
- Why micro-influencer marketing may matter more than billboards
- How athletes can build a platform for life after sports
Athlete Brands in the NIL Era
Brent Wall sees college sports from inside the shift. Student Athlete Score works with athletic departments and helps bring structure to NIL through data, athlete analytics, and brand discovery. Instead of focusing only on the star quarterback or on national six-figure deals, the platform looks at the athletes and brands that often get overlooked: local businesses, Olympic athletes, non-revenue athletes, and regional campaigns.
Eric and Brent talk through the reality of NIL right now. There is more structure than before, but still plenty of confusion. Deals need to be measured. Brands want to know what they are getting. Schools are trying to manage compliance, revenue, donors, and athlete education at the same time. Brent calls it a new era of the Wild West.
The conversation also moves into youth sports. Brent explains why athletes may need to build their personal brands earlier, not just for NIL money, but for visibility, recruiting, and future opportunity. Eric pushes on the mental load of that reality. Some kids want to build a following. Others just want to play. That tension is part of where sports is heading.
A major idea in the episode is that athletes are learning real business skills. Outreach, positioning, audience, ROI, brand fit, sales, and marketing are now showing up inside the athlete experience. That does not make the system simple. But it does create a chance for athletes to build something that lasts beyond their playing careers.
Notable Quotes
“The professionalization of sports at every level now is real.”
“These kids have to build their personal brand in conjunction with continuing to build their craft.”
“There’s a life past sports.”
Chapters in This Episode
00:00 — Sports towns, fandom, and life around Michigan athletics
01:50 — The professionalization of sports at every level
03:00 — Why young athletes now have to think about personal brand
04:39 — Social media cleanup, exposure, and the pressure on kids
06:32 — What Student Athlete Score does
07:56 — Measuring athlete value on social media
08:35 — How universities use the platform
10:05 — AI, discovery, and local brand deals
11:39 — NIL education, taxes, and athlete responsibility
13:36 — The old Wild West of NIL and the new one
15:59 — Compliance, NIL Go, and the fight around regulation
16:22 — Eligibility, the five-and-five rule, and college sports consistency
19:35 — Tournament expansion, TV money, sports betting, and more games
23:00 — What happens to tennis, Olympic sports, and non-revenue programs
26:17 — Donor fatigue and the need for NIL ROI
29:41 — Why money does not guarantee winning
31:19 — The transfer portal and mid-major programs as proving grounds
36:00 — International athletes, age gaps, and roster pressure
38:49 — Olympic athletes, NIL, and personal brand gaps
40:28 — Bots, fake followers, and better data
42:31 — Why athlete interests matter to brands
43:31 — Building a platform for life after sports
44:11 — Youth sports, high school athletes, and brand education
46:21 — NIL as a sales and marketing education
47:21 — Team dinners, micro-influencers, and local business value
50:40 — How Student Athlete Score grew with universities
51:26 — New commercial roles inside athletic departments
52:57 — Where to find Brent Wall and Student Athlete Score
Connect with Brent Wall | Student Athlete Score:
Website | LinkedIn
Instagram: @studentathletescore
Connect with Eric & SportsEpreneur:
SportsEpreneur.com | X | LinkedIn
Eric on LinkedIn | X
Related SportsEpreneur College Sports Content:
- Youth Sports Has Become a Full-Time Job for Parents | Dave Yoo of Onsides
- High School Athletes and NIL: The Future of Youth Sports
- The Real Cost of Youth Sports in 2026
- NIL Hub | SportsEpreneur’s NIL News, Insights & Resources
- The Pros and Cons of a 24-Team College Football Playoff — And Why Money Is Driving the Debate
Eric Kasimov is the founder of SportsEpreneur, part of the KazSource media network. Since launching the platform in 2015, he has hosted over 500 podcast episodes, written and published more than 1,500 articles, and advised business leaders, founders, and creators on building authority through media strategy.
Through his brands — KazSource, KazCM, SportsEpreneur, and QuietLoud Studios — Eric leads teams that produce podcasts, develop brand platforms, and help companies grow through modern content ecosystems. He also scaled KazSource Insurance into a seven-figure boutique agency, providing the foundation for the broader media network he operates today.
His work has been featured in Forbes, Axios, and Front Office Sports, and his podcasts have included conversations with top founders, investors, and athletes turned entrepreneurs.