🏅 Interview with the NIL Wire Team

Teaming up with

Hey there,

Today’s interview is with none other than the NIL Wire team. That’s right — the “Cole, Justin, and Collin” that always sign off on our intros are real people, and we thought it was about time we got to know you, face-to-screen, and in our own words.

If you’ve ever wondered who delivers NIL Wire, now’s your chance to learn all about us. It’s an easy, fun read, and hopefully informative one, too. Oh, and make sure you also check out the last question, where we talk about where we think NIL is headed in five years.

Check out todays sponsor The Flyover. They are the best unbiased news source around and is even read by our team on a daily basis.

If you want to get in touch for any reason, as usual, you can reach us by responding to this email. Now, let’s get into it!

— Cole, Justin and Collin

Hometown? Where did you go to school? Favorite sport to watch?

Cole: Dallas, TX — Baylor University — College Basketball and the NBA

Justin: Kansas City, MO — Wichita State University — College Basketball or NFL.

Collin: Boulder, CO — Baylor University — College Football or Golf.

Where does your love of sports originate from? What sports did you play growing up?

Cole: My family is originally from San Antonio, so I grew up as a massive Spurs fan. Basketball sort of touches everything in my family — my brother and I played basketball throughout our childhood and eventually got to play with each other in high school. I went to Baylor right as we began getting really good at basketball too, which always helps. Oh — and then football… when you grow up in Texas, that’s sort of a given. I’m a Cowboys fan till the day I die, which is unfortunate news for my mental health.

Justin: My love for sports originated from my dad. I grew up playing just about everything, but at a certain age, I liked basketball more than anything else. I spent summers going to just about every basketball camp and tournament I could (my favorite always being the KU basketball camp). Once I hit high school, I played freshman up to varsity, and in my sophomore year, we made it to the state championship, beating current Boston Celtics player Jayson Tatum’s team in the semi-finals. 

Collin: I have loved sports from a young age. Always grew up playing outside and spent summers in and out of soccer camps. Soccer was my main sport but tried and played almost everything. I grew up going to Buffalo Wild Wings on Sundays with my dad to watch football and track our fantasy teams. I played club sports in College and look for any excuse to be active. When I went to college is when I really started paying attention to college athletics.

How did you end up at NIL Wire?

Cole: Funny question. In college, I was an English major, but most of my projects were sports-related — you can thank David Foster Wallace’s piece on Roger Federer for that. Once I realized I wanted to write about sports, I landed a job in Waco with a local publication doing Baylor sports write-ups, which I continued to do until graduation. After Baylor, I took a sharp U-turn and went to Princeton for Divinity School. All the while I was still obsessing about sports, and shortly after graduating one of my best friends told me he was starting an NIL newsletter. That friend was Collin — and the rest is history.

Justin: My journey to NIL Wire started at Wichita State. I was a manager for the Men’s basketball team in my first and second years (don’t ask me about Gregg Marshall), getting ranked 16th in the country in year one and winning the American Conference Championship in year 2. In my sophomore year, we had a significant coaching change, and I promoted our new coach on social media to fans and recruits. Doing this, I liked digital marketing and content creation, setting me on my career path. I decided to forgo my junior and senior years with the team and landed a job with Minute Media as a social media intern. From there, I leveraged my experiences to contact Collin and land my current position at NIL Wire. 

Collin: At Baylor, I earned a double major in Professional Selling and Finance. After graduation, I worked a corporate sales job, and let's just say it did not live up to the hype, partially due to COVID. Nonetheless, I went to work for an email marketing company that created content and provided audiences with the means to take action. For several years, we talked about wanting to produce content in the sports arena, and with NIL emerging and changing the game, we saw a gap we could help fill. Out of that, NIL Wire was born.

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Walkup Song?

Cole: Spanish Pipedream, John Prine

Justin: Superhero (Heroes & Villians), Metro Boomin

Collin: Believer, Imagine Dragons

Best Place to watch a game?

Cole: I live in New York, so basically sports-bar Mecca. There’s a spot on the Upper East Side called Meller’s — that’s my go-to for Cowboys games because I can jaw back and forth with the NY Giants fans. As for March Madness though, I go to Carragher's Irish Pub, which is basically off of Wall Street. Great wings and forty TVs — what more could a man ask for?

Justin: It depends on the game. If we are talking about the NFL, I’m a Chiefs fan, and there is nothing like a game at Arrowhead Stadium. I would have to go to Johnny Tavern’s at Power and Light in KC for college football and basketball. NBA games are best watched in the comfort of my home because sometimes they get boring, and I like to do other things while I watch. 

Collin: The absolute best place to watch a game is at my parents house laying on pool float with a cold drink in hand. Runner up has to be on the couch with a few close friends who are interested in watching the game.

Where is NIL going to be in 5 years?

Cole: I think we’re heading toward a professional model. It’s hard to say how collective bargaining will look because student-athletes aren’t employees (yet), but if I were to guess, there’s going to be some action on that front within the next five years. At some level, though, it seems hilarious to even guess what college sports will look like — until the House settlement is finalized, we’re all just throwing darts.

Justin: As NIL continues to evolve, college athletics will start to resemble professional sports in terms of marketing and endorsements. Athletes will become savvier in negotiating deals and managing their public personas, similar to professional athletes.

NIL will increasingly influence recruiting, with prospective athletes considering potential NIL opportunities a significant factor in their college choice.

Collin: To be honest I really have no idea where things are going to end up. If we have learned anything over the past 9 months is it will continue to change. We are clearly inching closer and closer to a professional model at least at the very top. With that being said there are going to be more distractions for these student athletes and it will continue to get harder for them to navigate. Now more then ever they need a good support system around them.