Fran Brown becomes first NCAA coach to sign with NIL agency: What are the benefits?

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown has signed with sports marketing and management agency NETWORK, the company announced on Monday.

NETWORK aims to “build his brand and expand his influence both on and off the field,” via a press release.

Brown is believed to be the first NCAA head coach to sign with a management agency. He is NETWORK’s first coaching client.

“I’m thrilled to work with NETWORK and take the next step in building my personal brand, exploring new partnership opportunities and business ventures,” said Brown in the release. “This relationship will allow me to share my approach to coaching and leadership more broadly, while also connecting with companies and organizations that share my values.”

Doug Scott, Chief Strategy Officer at NETWORK, says that Brown was a desirable candidate to NETWORK because of his unique approachability in comparison to the rest of the coaching landscape.

“It’s his dynamic personality,” said Scott. “He’s down to earth, he cares, he rolls up his sleeves. There are a lot of coaches out there that are unapproachable; because they’re head coaches.” To see a young coach like Fran, really in the wild west of college football, be that accessible and have the personality and philosophy that he has, he became attractive.”

The partnership was facilitated by David B. Falk, an NBA agent and graduate of Syracuse University. Falk’s name is a permanent fixture at SU on the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.

Scott says that NETWORK met with Brown about a potential partnership as early as June of 2024.

“David was very excited about Coach Brown coming up to Syracuse,” said Scott. “After meeting Coach Brown, he said “we need to build his brand, we need to build his presence off of the field”…he reached out and asked me if I would go up and meet Coach Brown with him. We went up there, if I’m not mistaken, last June. Immediately, I could feel the energy and the passion.”

“Fran was on a mission,” said Scott. “He knew exactly what he needed to achieve, and he went out there and he did it. We could not be more excited to be working with him to build that off-field presence for him.”

NETWORK will work with Brown to explore media and merchandising opportunities with organizations that fit his values.

“It’s making sure that we’re true to his authenticity and who he is,” said Scott. “Fran knows who he is. He’s true to himself. He doesn’t try and be somebody that he’s not, and he’s very comfortable in where he is in life. He aspires to achieve more, and he’s a winner; and he’s going to do everything that he can to win, in the way that Fran knows.”

Scott believes it’s the authenticity that is driving renewed interest in Syracuse football from a national recruiting standpoint. The Orange currently have the eighth-best 2026 recruiting class nationally according to ESPN, and have reeled in high-profile players in the transfer portal like quarterback Kyle McCord.

“That’s what’s really attracting a lot of young athletes that have Syracuse in their consideration,” said Scott.

Scott mentioned Alabama’s Nick Saban and North Carolina’s Bill Belichick as examples of coaches who have built personal brands that have “halo effects” on the schools that they work for.

“I think that what you really have here is a coach that recognizes the importance of his presence both on and off the field,” said Scott. “And my view is that Syracuse is going to be the benefactor of him… undertaking the process to define who he is, and dare I say, commercialize that as he goes forward. For both his interest, and the interest of the school.”

He believes that Brown is at the forefront of a trend that will catch on among college head coaches.

“I do think you’re going to see more head coaches follow suit and better understand their marketing strategy,” he said. “Even when they do press conferences, there’s marketing happening in that press conference relative to the visibility that they’re getting, from College GameDay and SportsCenter, and other media outlets.”

You can watch the full interview with NETWORK’s Doug Scott here.