(Bloomberg) -- Young athletes navigating a burgeoning world of big-money sponsorship deals are teaming up with Bank of America Corp.’s financial advisers to plot their financial future.
BofA’s Merrill Wealth Management and IMG Academy, the Florida-based high school sports powerhouse, are partnering to offer financial-education to student athletes and their families, covering topics including saving and spending, credit and investing.
The program will be available at IMG’s boarding school in Bradenton and online at the beginning of the upcoming school year, according to executives.
“This generation is going to be facing decision-making around financial matters in a different way than other student athletes have in the past,” Greg McGauley, head of Merrill Private Wealth Management, said in an interview. “They need to be better educated at a younger age.”
College sports has entered a new era as restrictions ease on players making money, including from their name, image and likeness, also known as NIL. This has launched Division I athletics into a financial frenzy, with athletes bringing in millions in brand endorsements and marketing deals.
Total NIL compensation for NCAA athletes will hit an estimated $1.67 billion during the 2024-25 school year, according to a report by the online marketplace Opendorse, which tallied roughly 150,000 transactions involving more than 100,000 athletes.
With students athletes making money during their college careers, some schools have tapped financial experts to teach players how to manage their income. That process will now start earlier at IMG, located about an hour south of Tampa. The school, which counts Venus and Serena Williams as alumni, has long sent a stream of athletes to Division I schools and eventually the professional ranks in sports including football, soccer and basketball.
For the biggest US banks, meanwhile, wealth management has been a fast-growing, competitive business. They’ve poured resources into the sector as they try to lure new clients who bring with them additional assets to invest. Merrill started focusing on the sports industry three years ago when it created a dedicated sports and entertainment group. Clients in that unit make up about $40 billion in assets, according to McGauley.
As part of the new partnership, Merrill will move some of its 641 designated sports and entertainment wealth advisers to IMG’s campus, he said. They will host parent and student teach-ins, and simulations that show students what it is like to invest in a real financial market.
IMG has a boarding school, camps, college recruitment services and online coaching for student athletes as they prepare for college and careers in sports. The new program with Merrill will expand the curriculum to provide students with self-study materials and one-on-one meetings with financial advisers.
“We hear a lot of questions about financial opportunities for student athletes at schools, beyond scholarships,” IMG Academy Chief Executive Officer Brent Richard said. “In this moment, financial education is the next piece of the puzzle. Our job is to prepare them for college and for life.”
