Icon Source Expands On-Demand Athlete Marketplace to College Level

Enrollment for College Players Begin Oct. 1; First Platform to Look Beyond Social Media to Allow Athletes to Capitalize on Personal Brand Potential Through Endorsements, Appearances and Speaking Events

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Icon Source, a digital marketplace that connects aspiring brands and professional athletes, opens its secure on-demand platform to college athletes in response to the NCAA decision to allow players to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL). Beginning Oct. 1, college athletes will be able to register on Icon Source, joining the more than 600 professional athletes currently active on the platform. Collegiate profiles will remain private until college compensation laws go into effect, which as of now is as early as July 1, 2021 in Florida.

College athletes will have the ability to build out profiles based on division, conference, school and sport, in addition to the metrics already included on the platform such as social stats, location and personal interests. Companies can perform organic searches for athletes or utilize Icon Source’s AI technology to be paired with an athlete based on social audience demographics.

“Icon Source was created to enable and protect athletes across all sports and levels. Our biggest advantage for college athletes is our full-service platform equipped to handle all marketing opportunities, not just limited to social media, and the built-in contract templates that have been approved by sports agents at the professional level,” shares Chase Garrett, founder and CEO of Icon Source. “It has been a long-time coming for college athletes to be compensated for their NIL, and we’re excited to work with them to further promote their personal brand in their local communities and at the national level.”

Tracking and reporting capabilities already integrated into the platform will allow the monitoring of opportunities by coaches, school compliance officers and the NCAA, ensuring the protection of young athletes. Suspicious offers and transactions will be automatically flagged, preventing abuse by outside parties looking to engage in “pay for play” opportunities or recruitments. Contracts, payments and all communication can be carefully monitored and customized for each individual athlete or university looking to use the platform. Icon Source’s contract wizard develops contracts specifically with the intention of protecting young athletes while adopting any rules or regulations set by the NCAA.

“We understand this is not a one-size-fits-all situation, so we can customize reporting and notifications at the appropriate level,” adds Garrett.

About Icon Source

Icon Source is a digital marketplace that brings agents, athletes and brands together. The Denver-based startup is the only platform that provides brands of all sizes direct communication with agents, eliminating unnecessary intermediate steps to engage with a professional athlete. Its proprietary AI technology pairs athletes and brands based on social audience demographics. For additional information and to create a free account, visit www.iconsource.com.