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Teens, AI And Looming Litigation Reshape Booming College Athlete Market

Charles Paikert

8 September 2026

There may be no faster changing sector in the financial advisory business than the burgeoning market for working with young athletes.

A growing number of financial advisors’ clients are now in high school, prospective young clients are rapidly turning to artificial intelligence for advice, NCAA rules are changing, revenue streams are multiplying and looming on the horizon are a hugely consequential court case and wide-ranging proposed federal legislation that could upend the status quo. 

It has been five years since college students have been allowed to receive payments as athletes, and total payments through NIL deals. Direct payments from colleges, brand deals and social media posts are expected to reach $4.5 billion this year according to NIL firm Opendorse.

Star college athletes can earn $6 million a year and a starting basketball player in one of the top conferences can expect to make over $2 million.

This gush of newly-created wealth has opened up a lucrative market for financial advisors, albeit one fraught with considerable challenges.

It’s a market that has been in considerable flux since its inception, and the latest shift is the reality that the market is skewing younger and younger.

“A prospect at 18 may not be on the map at 22”
“What’s changed is the timing,” said Lawrence Tynes, sports director for Creative Planning. “Financial decisions that used to begin in college or after turning professional are now happening at 16, 17 and 18 years old.”

One prominent sports agent recently signed a high school athlete who will be in the college class of 2030, according to Matt LaPorta, sports advisor and executive in residence for Dynasty Financial Partners. The implication for advisors is clear, LaPorta said. “They have to start earlier…An athlete who’s a prospect at 18 may not be on the map at 22.” 

How can advisors generate leads for such a young, diverse and large demographic? 

Cast a wide net,” said La Porta, who played major league baseball for seven years. “Advisors don’t have enough time to go to 10 different local high schools. They need a broader approach so they can get in front of 50 or 100 families dealing with this process.”

He suggested giving informative presentations about finance, NIL deals and college revenue share contracts to families whose children are in traveling showcases and tournaments for talented high school athletes such as Perfect Game in baseball, Elite 11 in football, Nike Hoop Summit in basketball.

“Education is often more important”
Personal relationships and financial education are key to winning over young athletes and their parents, advisors say.

“Our focus has been on building relationships within the broader athlete ecosystem, including families, agents, coaches, training organizations and other professionals,” said Kirk Loerwald, partner at SAX Wealth Advisors. “At that age, education is often more important than trying to establish an investment relationship. If we can help an athlete and their family understand taxes, cash flow, NIL contracts and what to do with that first meaningful check, the relationship tends to develop naturally.”

One of Creative Planning’s clients is a high school junior and most of the sports division’s growth also comes from existing relationships in the “athlete ecosystem,” referrals as well as stressing education, said Tynes, who played in the National football League for 14 years including two Super bowls with the New York Giants. “If we can become a trusted resource for the family early,” he said, “the relationship tends to grow naturally as the athlete’s career progresses.”

“AI is changing the landscape”
As if prospecting teenagers weren’t challenging enough, advisors now also have to contend with artificial intelligence as a source of financial information.

When it comes to interacting with teenagers, “AI is changing the landscape,” said Hillary Seiler, founder of Financial Footwork, an educational and training resource for athletes and sports organizations. “The last 18 months have been wildly different than what we’ve seen previously. This is a generation that’s grown up with a phone in their hand that they find more trustworthy than someone they don’t know. Half of the young athletes I’ve met say they trust AI before they would trust an advisor.”

But a number of advisors pushed back, saying they don’t view clients using AI as an impediment. 

“AI can help athletes ask questions they might not feel completely comfortable asking otherwise,” Loerwald said. “But information isn’t the same as advice. AI can explain what a Roth IRA is but it doesn’t necessarily understand the athlete’s entire financial, tax, legal and family situation. Our job has to evolve from simply providing information to helping athletes coordinate and apply that information to their lives and make good decisions.” 

Advisors should also be more proactive when it comes to AI and use tools like generative engine optimization to make sure their firm comes up in AI searches, LaPorta said. “Kids are going to use AI and it’s not going away. If they’re going to use it, they should know about your brand.”

Young people are getting smarter
In fact, advisors say young people have become much more knowledgeable about finances and professional sports since NIL payments began five years ago.

“Young people are getting smarter,” said Christopher Bostick, partner at Zelniker Dorman Private Wealth. “They’ve been on a learning curve since this started and they know more now than they did a few years ago.” 

Social media, AI and hearing and reading about athletes who have already had experience with NIL and college payments have played a big part, according to Tynes. “Kids are more aware now of the importance of taking care of money than ever,” he said.

Nonetheless, financial literacy is still far from universal and advisory firms targeting the sports market have made providing an overview of financial basics, ideally with advisors who were former athletes, a major priority.

The four As: agents, accountants, advisors and attorneys
JP Morgan Chase has been a prime example, inaugurating an “Athlete Council” earlier this year that includes stars such as Tom Brady, Sue Bird and Jalen Brunson to offer guidance to the firm’s advisors and sports clients. The bank has a financial education outreach program at universities and major sports events as well as a partnership with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association that utilizes a new “Center of Excellence” and a web site with educational content for athletes.

With over 500,00 athletes now participating in college sports, JP Morgan wants to provide  “a genuine support system” and help student athletes deal with what Mik Lemieux, wealth planner in J P Morgan Wealth Management’s Athlete Center of Excellence, describes as the “four As” they will encounter: agents, accountants, advisors and attorneys. 

Understanding the consequences of financial decisions is critical for young people receiving so much money for the first time, said Lemieux. “You’re handing the keys of the car over to somebody who doesn’t know how to drive.”

Young athletes don’t realize they have a very short window to make that kind of money
While RIAs have fewer resources than a financial giant like JP Morgan Chase, they are also emphasizing educational outreach and building strong personal relationships.

“At the end of the day, my goal is to be a teacher and a partner,” said Bostick, a former professional baseball player. “At that age young athletes don’t realize they have a very short window to make that kind of money. It’s easy to think the checks will never stop. But you could be an injury away from never seeing a check again.”

Of course, advisors discuss a broad range of financial planning strategies with young athletes including budgeting, saving, tax preparation for their 1099 income, insurance, investments, reviewing contracts for multiple revenues streams that now increasingly include trading card deals, and setting up entities like LLCs and S Corporations.

They also present themselves as a protective buffer between the athlete and family members and friends with their hands out. “Let us be the bad guy,” said Tynes. But young athletes also have to be able to turn down requests for money themselves, he added. Citing some of his former professional football teammates who are now broke, Tynes advises clients that “If you can’t say the word ‘No’ you will have problems.”

A one hundred per cent game changer
At the same time advisors are furiously trying to keep up with the head-spinning pace of change in the world of college sports, including new NCAA eligibility rules, a proposed bill now in Congress and a major lawsuit being litigated in federal courts that may turn everything upside down all over again.

The Protect College Sports Act would establish new federal NIL rights and reporting rules; regulate contracts and agents, including capping agent fees at 5 per cent of contract value; set medical coverage standards for athletes; establish eligibility standards; extend or modify the revenue-sharing cap and create federal rules governing recruiting inducements and tampering.

Johnson v. NCAA, now being tried in the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania, will determine whether college athletes can be classified as employees under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

If college athletes do become employees, the impact would be “monumental” and could “change what college sports looks like,” according to attorney Luke Fedlam, partner and co-chair of Amundsen Davis’ sports practice.

Employment classification would allow college athletes to form a union and have collective bargaining power. NIL compensation and direct revenue-sharing payments by colleges would be reshaped and colleges would be required to comply with payroll, tax, and employment law obligations.

Over 100 Division 1 colleges and universities affected by the lawsuit would also have to pay athletes a minimum wage, overtime, back pay, payroll taxes, provide athletes with workers’ compensation coverage and possibly require proportional pay across men’s and women’s sports.

“Athletic departments are already making hard decisions,” said Loerwald. “Classifying college athletes as employees would be a one hundred per cent game changer.”