How We Can Set College Athletes Up for Long-Term Financial Security

When I think about the newly-minted earning power of college athletes through NIL, I can’t help but reflect on what it might have meant for my dad and so many others like him.

My father, Michael Haddix, was a star running back at Mississippi State in the early 1980’s. He set records that still stand. He earned All-SEC honors twice. He dominated for a Bulldogs team that won multiple bowl games and even beat Alabama. He is a Hall of Famer and an MSU legend. He went on to become a first round NFL Draft pick. He was exactly the kind of college athlete who would have been showered with NIL opportunities.

The thing is, I’m not sure it would have changed his trajectory. Within a few years of being an NFL draft pick, my dad was broke. The guidance my dad needed then is still largely absent today when it comes to athletes’ finances. The college sports landscape has changed quickly in so many ways, but efforts to protect student-athletes’ interests haven’t kept pace. An opportunity to build generational wealth is going to waste.

We created Scout to ensure that new opportunities for college athletes to earn through NIL yield long-term success. Scout is a financial coaching platform and a tool for managing real-world finances (everything from handling your taxes to building a budget) that evolves as the athlete does. Our platform is designed to help college athletes plan, save, budget, and invest wisely, so they can earn now and be financially secure long after their college careers are over. We are changing the game by educating, empowering, and engaging athletes in an intentional way because this opportunity is too precious – and too precarious.