Jurkovec, Flowers to Host Youth Camp Through NIL Marketplace Vantage Sports
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec remembers going to football camps as a kid. Except the clinics hosted by colleges were far removed from the student-athletes, Jurkovec recalled. He added: "The interaction with the players was never really there."
But—ever since the NCAA's Board of Directors suspended the association's rules preventing athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness last July—it's now possible. Jurkovec is taking full advantage of an opportunity to not only monetize off his NIL but also give back to the sport something he never had during his childhood.
And he's doing it alongside his co-star, wide receiver Zay Flowers. Through new NIL marketplace Vantage Sports, the NFL prospect duo is hosting a youth camp at Woburn High School on June 18 from 1-3 p.m. for kids in grades 5-12.
"I think this is a unique opportunity for Zay and I to teach fundamentals and just our knowledge of the game in an environment that is pretty intimate," Jurkovec said.
Jurkovec said he learned of Vantage Sports from former teammate and fellow quarterback Dennis Grosel, who interned for the startup as part of a capstone for his master's in sports administration and now works in business development and outreach for the company. The BC roots dig deeper for Vantage Sports, which was started by Patrick Johnson, BC '17, who officially pivoted from the tech industry to the NIL space last summer.
Johnson said the idea stemmed from an inspiration to give student-athletes a chance to both make NIL money and play a role in their local youth and high school sports communities. He acknowledged, though, that it's a tricky landscape to navigate. While student-athletes across the country are leaping for six-figure payments from NIL collectives—which are independent of the schools and made up of affluent alumni and fans who pull together money from donors and businesses to create NIL activities—Vantage Sports' goals fall in order with the original intent of NIL legislation.
"Working with a guy like Zay is really unique because he sort of fits both molds," Johnson said. "He's at the very high echelons of the sport and also finding time and interest in giving back. So, generally, we've worked with a lot of schools like Boston College that have really stayed out of sort of the craziness of the collective era and just focused on providing opportunities that help all their college athletes."
Earlier this offseason, Flowers turned down a pair of six-figure offers from NIL companies—each that would have required him to enter the portal and transfer to a specific school, as first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Flowers, one of 14 children in a single-parent household, prioritized his loyalty to BC over what he called "life-changing" money in the ESPN story. Flowers already has NIL deals at BC, most notably a partnership with McGovern Auto Group that's provided the electric wideout with an X6M BMW.
Jurkovec's got a new ride, too. As of Wednesday, the Eagles' lead signal caller also partnered with McGovern Auto Group and Boston Motor Sports for an Audi S7.
Jurkovec said Doug Phillis, who is in charge of BC's NIL department, has been a big help in working with sponsors and companies around Boston.
The opportunity with Vantage Sports is a bit different, however. Vantage Sports is the intermediary. It connects aspiring college athletes to current and former college athletes for 1-on-1 instruction, small-group training, clinics or even virtual instruction.
"There's a ton of companies that are just, 'We can market you and get you connections,' Grosel said. "But there's not really that NIL company that is the connection. And that is that opportunity for you. And that's where he had the vision that this marketplace can come up."
When working with Vantage Sports, student-athletes can set their availability and price points. The camp Jurkovec and Flowers are hosting has a $100 signup cost. Student-athletes receive 100% of the asking price, Grosel said, but there's a 10% fee on top of the signup cost that goes to Vantage Sports. And there's a 1% fee that goes to the Doug Flutie Jr. Fund for Autism.
"At the core of NIL, this is what it was made for," Grosel said. "The players are able to monetize off of who they are, right? And it's a connection with the community, and it's building your brand—locally and nationally—and the kids are coming because they want to get better, and they want to learn, but they're also fans."
In addition to learning about on-field fundamentals, participants will also get advice about traversing through the recruiting process.
"I've been a part of a lot of different football camps, and I think this is a unique opportunity now," Jurkovec said. "Something that you didn't get in the past. And where you can work with college football players.
"It's an opportunity that I didn't have growing up."
