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SSU grad Marcus Scott attends first ever NIL Summit
Marcus Scott
Marcus Scott

WS Moore, Sports Correspondent.

Recent Savannah State University graduate Marcus Scott attended the inaugural Name Image and Likeness (NIL) Summit, held June 13–15 in Atlanta at the College Football Hall of Fame. 

The event, which drew more than 350 student-athletes, was hosted by Student Athlete NIL (SANIL) and sponsored by NIL platform INFLCR. One of the reasons for the summit was to equip student-athletes with the tools, resources and information necessary to maximize their outcomes, both in the near term and well after they are done playing sports. 

Scott, who played on the men’s basketball team at Savannah State, said that the total experience of attending the summit was very valuable and that he was able to meet many different brand owners, including World Wrestling Entertainment’s Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

 “I felt very blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of the first NIL Summit, and my experience would rate a 10,” he said. “I was able to connect with other athletes that were there, as well as the many brands they had there. I was surrounded by many successful athletes that were able to attend, and we made connections that help me to feed off their success as I helped them feed off mine.” 

He went on to say that two things he gained from the event were knowledge and connections. “The knowledge will help me to grow my brand the right way and in a very strategic way, and the connections will help me to get into doors that may not be open to everyone,” he said. “I made some really good friends there that I still keep in contact with now, and we are all on the same laser-focus goal, which is to better ourselves as student- athletes by branding and marketing our skills.”

Scott recently started marketing his own clothing line, and he said the things he learned will help him do a better job of selling himself and his brand.

“The many different speakers we had that talked about several topics such as marketing, social media appearance and excelling in your sport made an impact on me that helped me to become even more focused on myself and my brand and helping to shape my future,” he said. Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow was one of the more than 50 speakers at the summit.

“One of the most important things that Tim Tebow said that helped me with my brand was, ‘If you want to lead, don’t try to be liked. Try to be respected. There’s a big difference,’” Scott said. “I can apply to this to my basketball philosophy, which can also enhance my brand.” The NIL Summit was born of the idea of giving student-athletes from across the nation a platform to converge as a community of influencers and change agents, to share ideas and collaborate alongside the transformative brands and organizations shaping the future of college sports.

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