The B Team Podcast
Talking all things Business, Bentonville, and Bourbon. Hosted by Josh Saffran, Matt Marrs, and Rob Nelson. New episodes every Thursday!
The B Team Podcast
Ep. 83 - Building Better Athletes: Managing NIL the Right Way
Northwest Arkansas has a rich history of innovation, and now that pioneering spirit has reached collegiate athletics through Pinnacle Sports Ventures. Founded by Chad Campbell, a lifelong area resident with an extraordinary background spanning banking, professional drag racing management, and automotive sales, PSV represents a revolutionary approach to NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) management for University of Arkansas athletes.
What began as frustration over the chaotic implementation of NIL policies has transformed into a mission-driven enterprise. When track and football standout Jordan Anthony missed NIL opportunities due to systemic failures, Chad recognized that athletes needed more than just sponsorship deals - they needed comprehensive support. "These kids are getting all this money and no one's helping them," he explains with genuine concern. "They don't know how to create an LLC, they don't know how to tag their cars... all the things we take for granted."
PSV distinguishes itself through two mandatory contract provisions: a zero-tolerance code of conduct and required community service, typically with the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. This reflects Chad's holistic philosophy that developing responsible citizens is as important as securing financial opportunities. A partnership with United Federal Credit Union further ensures athletes receive proper financial education.
The timing couldn't be better, as collegiate athletics undergoes a transformation with the NCAA's $20.5 million NIL salary cap implementation. Chad has assembled an impressive advisory team, including Razorback legends Scotty Thurman and Lee Mayberry, alongside business leaders like Dick Trammel. His selective approach to client recruitment ensures each athlete fits the "PSV mold" of character and commitment.
Perhaps most striking is Chad's authentic passion for making a difference. "I am very blessed," he reflects, "not because of money, but because of the people in Northwest Arkansas who helped make this happen." For athletes seeking representation that values character alongside compensation, Pinnacle Sports Ventures offers something truly groundbreaking in the evolving landscape of collegiate athletics.
Welcome to the Beat Team Podcast. I am your host, Josh Stafford, with my co-host, Pat Morris, and our permanent guest, Rob Nelson. We're here every week to talk to you about all things Betonville, Urban, and Business. The Beat Team Podcast. Be here. Welcome to the Beat Team Podcast. I'm your host, Josh Staffrin, and with my permanent guest, Rob Nelson. I flipped the script. I went and did it. I'm paying attention.
SPEAKER_02:And our co-host. Well, he didn't even know how to answer Bobby. He is nervous. It was so quick it came up on him. He wasn't ready. But you guys never know which way I'm going to go.
SPEAKER_01:He should have been prepared and he Rob Nelson. It's Bobby. Bobby. Bobby. And our co-host?
SPEAKER_02:Matty Mars.
SPEAKER_01:And I love the new lid. We're going to talk about this too. Yeah, we're going to talk about it. We're going to talk about it. We're here every Thursday for All Things Bentonville Business and Bourbon. And we're going to have a little bit of bourbon, but I had to introduce Chad because he's about to blow up. Like you guys don't, I he was like my surprise guest today. We didn't talk much about it. Pinnacle Sports Ventures. Okay. We've had guests in here before, they're like one of one in the community, but what Chad's doing, he's the first of its kind. And he reached out to me and said, Hey, I'd love to be on the podcast and launch some of the sports venture stuff that I'm doing. That's amazing. So yeah, so we're going to let Chad talk about after we pour a little bit of what Matthew brought us today.
unknown:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:So it's uh some Penelope architect. My uncle got it for me. I don't know how it is. He said he heard it was really good.
SPEAKER_01:Does your uncle like you? Or is Uncle Bob?
SPEAKER_02:It's Uncle Bob. Man, shout out to Uncle Bob. I haven't seen him in a minute. No, I haven't seen him in forever.
SPEAKER_01:So we trust Uncle Bob. So be good? Yeah, Uncle Bob, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I mean, we'll we'll know here in a minute. He is a Mars. Yeah, so he could have got it for a deal because he's a Mars.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I noticed the bottle was already open when you put it in.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, all I said was he is a Mars. I'll have to have a taste. I'll put this right in front of Josh. Is it good? Shabby. Not too shabby. I haven't tried it yet.
SPEAKER_00:Not too shabby.
SPEAKER_01:Lower proof.
SPEAKER_02:It's actually pretty good.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. What's the diagram on the back? What is that drawing, Matthew?
SPEAKER_02:It's 104-proof. Yeah. Well, I think this is, they put this on here for us because we don't have Russ here. So it tells you how much fruit is on the nose. 3.5.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. Is there any stone fruit?
SPEAKER_02:Um, there's cracked vanilla.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, shout out to Russ.
SPEAKER_02:Cracked vanilla's at 0.5. A lot of structure. A little weediness. Weediness. Yeah? What's the word? Weediness and PD. A little peaty? Petey-weedy? Petey-weedy. Do you have a peaty weedy, Josh?
SPEAKER_01:We'll talk about that one far now.
SPEAKER_02:It's got French oak staves that it's uh finished with. That's probably what you're tasting.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I think that's the PD Wee. Good aftertaste. You like it? Yeah, I do. I really do. That's good. All right, Chad, you're up. So give us a give us the background, give us the bio. Okay. Give us what you've been doing pr previously, little bio, but then get into the super cool new venture you're into.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. So yeah, so it just uh it was one of those things that uh, you know, I've been preparing this uh for this all my life and just didn't know it. Um so I started out uh with a banking career uh with our best. Uh my dad was one of the original Walmart guys, so very blessed to have come to Northwest Arkansas in the early 70s. Um so a shout out to my dad for for taking that risk. Shout out, yeah. Very, very, very good decision to to come down here. Um but anyway, so I didn't want to really be under my dad's shadow. Uh I knew I was gonna get my degree at the U of A. I knew that I was gonna try to play professional baseball, and that didn't work out. Uh like uh the the saying is what is it, uh only one percent of all athletes uh you know actually do it for a living. And so uh I remember back uh when I figured out that I wasn't gonna be a baseball player and have that pay for my um lifestyle and and you know be my job, uh I decided to focus on my education. And so I worked very hard, got my degree, um, married my high school sweetheart. I had to wait on her in Fayetteville for a year to get her teaching degree, and then we came back to my hometown. So essentially uh I've never left Northwest Arkansas, Roger be Rogers being my hometown. Um some of the opportunities that the banking afforded me uh is I got into real estate on as a hobby and did very well in that, kind of on the side. And then uh I became the Rogers Planning Commissioner. Uh and 13 long years uh uh during from 03 until 2016, I will tell you this, uh Mayor Wilmack, now Congressman Wilmack, uh he appointed me uh because planning commissioners are appointed, not elected, so that was a very big deal. So um the funny thing is back in the day I was living on I was a banker living on Easy Street and I was the chairman of the Rogers Planning Commission. So I needed to make a change because uh you know that I caught a lot of grief for that, although it was uh it was pretty cool. Um, you know, be able to say I live on Easy Street in Rogers, Arkansas. You know, uh boy was it easy. Uh but anyways. So um so after, I don't know, 15 years-ish uh in the uh the banking and very visible um you know in the community, uh I uh I got I did a complete 180 and I got into drag racing. Uh a future or excuse me, a how did that how did you go from point A to point B on that one? It's I know, it's crazy. I've told the story. So quarter mile at a time. It's yeah, yeah, it's it's relationships, just like everything else. Yeah, I'll even go in on that one. Yeah, very nice. Uh whoops sorry, didn't even go behind me. But anyway, so uh so I got a call in 2007, um and uh it was from Rod Fuller uh in the business, he's known as Hot Rod Fuller. Uh his family uh had a little t-shirt place uh in the Dixie Land Mall back when we were growing up. And anyways, he uh he followed his dream and uh was a very big amateur. He was the super gas champion, and uh, you know, we're not in the racing Mecca, so for someone from Rogers, Arkansas to make it big into a 330 mile per hour uh you know, top field dragster is pretty big.
SPEAKER_02:And so That's how fast you drive typically actually I've I've in my old age, I've actually I follow the speed limit. I drive a SUV, I don't have a sports cars.
SPEAKER_01:That's because when you're driving past Mezzaluna, you have to stop and count the people in the world.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I sold my sports cars. I'm I'm out of the game. Yeah, he's yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Until you're back in, you're out until they pull me back. He's fully domesticated. Now he just buys fast boats. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Well, there's nothing wrong with that. You know, they race fast boats too up in uh uh Wheat Wheatland, uh Missouri. They have a big drag boat. Uh the the Forrest Lucas, the late Forrest Lucas. He just passed in the last week, uh, and he was a he was a mentor of mine as well. Uh but anyway, so so Rod calls me and says, Hey, uh, I don't have any sponsors. I just fired my manager, uh, and um I uh I need you to come help me out. And so um, you know, I I thought there's no way. I don't I don't know anything about racing, much less, much less drag racing. Um and, you know, uh my wife uh was probably not too keen on me to travel in the NHRA drag race circuit uh with my you know childhood friend uh who is single uh and on top of the world. Uh but anyways, uh she supported me, of course. That'll be a whole separate podcast. We couldn't. I'm sure we couldn't.
SPEAKER_02:Because uh we all grew up together, so you know how the secrets of all that is. But uh anyway, so drag racing in Bimini. Uh no, no, no.
SPEAKER_00:But hey, it's funny you say that because as the story goes, we went from sponsorless, he actually raced down uh in one race, uh Reading, Pennsylvania, I think, uh, in a white car, just to prove a point that he didn't have any sponsors. And so to go from that to number two in the world, uh, we ended up getting at that time uh record sponsorship uh with Caterpillar, one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Uh our pilot program was based off of technician recruiting. So essentially what we did is we look worked with the local dealers, and anyways, um, so that that's where I picked up the passion for drag racing. And so from Northwest Arkansas, I basically just would travel around and I would manage the sponsors uh and then I would manage him uh because you know he needed to manage. He needed manage. He was single. And he was single and he lived in Vegas. Well, trust me, uh it it's it's kind of crazy because you know at least Matt and I charge shout out to Emily But no, it just uh it it was it was fun. It uh he retired in 2010. Uh the last year uh when you talked about uh it's so crazy, but he uh Rod got the opportunity, our last year of racing, to be sponsored by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Rod went over to Abu Dhabi, spent a whole year over there, uh, and uh that is where the um F1 series, it's called Yas Marina, and that's where the F1 finishes the races. It's unbelievable. So he went over there and they built a drag race inside the Yas Marina, and so he got to they had um they had a three-seat dragster, and one of his claim to fame was in the year that he was over there, he got to uh take Jim Cameron. James Cameron was over there with uh some other guy, I can't remember who it was. They were over there in Dubai in Abu Dhabi uh shooting a film. I can't remember what it was, I'm sure he could tell you. But yeah, so he got uh yeah, he got to go down there. But he spent he's been here over the stories. Oh yes, those those are those are matter of fact, Rod threw out the first pitch, and some of the Abu Dhabi people came here and we put them in. There's only one suite in the A Loft Hotel, it's the one that's got the rail. Uh let's just say that we uh we rented that one for the Abu Dhabi people, and then they've got to be able to do that. Those walls could talk. Yes, but uh we Rod threw out the first pitch. We had the we had the show car there.
SPEAKER_02:Rod's like, did we just become best friends?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, right, right. So uh so anyway, so um so yeah, so when he retired, I came back to Northwest Arkansas, and uh, you know, I knew my my um you know, I was too young to retire, and uh, you know, I've got too much too much energy, and I knew that it was kind of getting to the point where it was probably time to uh start paying back uh for a lot of the the hard work and blessings that I was afforded in life. Uh and so um so anyway, so I started dabbling uh and got into the car business of all things. Um and so um what started out very innocently is what was just gonna be kind of a part-time, you know, that's what they say, oh just go sell cars, you know, just put sell cars part-time, you can make another keep busy and my passion for cars and racing and all that. Well, uh that was in 2012, and fast forward I spent 10 years in the car business and achieved uh the highest degree of success. Got to hang out with Roger Pinski, got to win every award uh imaginable and and and really did good. Spent four years, or no, excuse me, seven years at the Fable Auto Park. And so that's where it all started.
SPEAKER_01:Uh before we get to that, yeah. He liked the highly caffeinated version of you. Like he like he's into everything that you're into. Cars, fast boats, fast women. Shout out to any. I don't know about you look at me.
SPEAKER_02:I thought you'd look at Matt on that one. Yeah, you're editing that shit out for sure.
SPEAKER_01:Shout out to Bobby.
SPEAKER_02:Edit, edit, edit, edit, edit. Okay. You can find it, edit, edit, edit.
SPEAKER_00:So uh, so yeah, so I got in the car business, and and I don't know, probably three or four years ago, uh, you know, being a uh hog alum, my wife's an alum, my twin daughters are alum, and I'm just very passionate about the hogs, as a lot of people in northwest Arkansas are.
SPEAKER_01:Whoopig.
SPEAKER_00:Whoopig. And so uh so anyways, uh, you know, use my relationships once again, uh, and and just wanted to be involved in the NIL scene. And uh, you know, when it came out, uh it was a cuss word, it was a bad word. So for those that don't understand NIL, okay, so NIL. Yeah, so yeah, NIL, of course, everyone throws out the acronym, but what what it is is it's NAME, likeness, and or excuse me, name, image, and likeness. And so it's paying the college kids money for schools. Yeah, yeah. And and so you gotta understand the upbringing that I had down at the U of A, um, you know, I was very, very close friends with a lot of the athletes, and they were paid. They were just paid in a different way.
SPEAKER_02:It's on the QT.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's on the QT. And and I witnessed that firsthand. Like I duffle bags of cash. Like the the old handshakes were the hundred dollar bill. I mean, all that is is real. I mean, that it did happen.
SPEAKER_01:Uh Bobby does that in Vegas, the handshake. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we just do it in a different form, in a different sense. Now you get your upgraded room.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so so I was always intrigued by that. And so when when um the pain uh for players and and athletes in the collegiate level came out, um I started getting hit up by all these people for whips. I didn't even know what a whip was, you know. I'm thinking of the whip. Well, the young generation call cars whips. And so a guy calls me one day and says, Hey, I want a whip. And I said, Okay, well, I'll whip you. You know, just joking. And he's like, No, I I need a car. And it turned out uh uh it was Jalen Williams. Jalen Williams, NBA basketball player, the NBA basketball player. Matter of fact, uh last time I talked to him, which was in the last few months, uh, he still has that car that I sold him. And Lord knows he's already signed his second NBA contract, so he can he can have any car he wants. But I've got the picture to prove it, and uh I started a relationship with Jalen after that. But anyway, so just started helping people out and uh and then you know started building some more relationships, and and as I'm doing this, um NIL is just going crazy. And you you I mean, I travel all the time, and I could be in a swimming pool at a hotel in Vegas, or I could be at a at a drag race in Chicago, and everyone's talking about NIL. And uh and you know, you have to pause for a second.
SPEAKER_01:Bobby was just thinking pool party in Vegas, you have to bring him back, yeah, bring him back. Bring him back, bring him back. Bring him back.
SPEAKER_00:But but no, no one understood. When is happening? Because it it was it was it was ever-changing, nobody knew the rules. There, there was absolutely no experts, and so if you tried to reach out to the people that were supposed to be the ones in charge that were making the rules, you you couldn't get any answers. And so um this past Christmas, um Here's the big reveal. Here we go. Here's the reveal. This is it. So I had befriended, uh, start out with a car purchase, uh, a young man by the name of Jordan Anthony. Jordan Anthony came through us through the transfer portal through Kentucky, through Texas AM, and fortunately a guy by the name of Bobby Petrino brought him from AM to Northwest Arkansas. So fast forward, they get up here, they get settled, and he's a two-sport uh, you know, which is very rare. He's track and he's football. And so we got to December uh and uh Jordan's mother was getting ready to have brain cancer in California and LA. And so, like a lot of players, uh, you know, after the season was over, he chose not to participate in the bowl game because of his mother's surgery. And there were other athletes for their own reasons. They were either gonna transfer or they were gonna sit out and they didn't want to get hurt, you know, whatever reason. They all had their own reasons. And so while we were after the bowl game and we won the great game against uh, you know, in the delivery bowl, and uh and everything's great. Um and so I'm sitting there asking Jordan, hey, you know, what's going on with your the football NIL and what you know, because track he was going through track season. And I couldn't get any answers in Fayetteville. So I put a a Facebook post out and I said, Who's paying attention in Fayetteville? What's going on down there? Because whatever was going on was not good. And so I talked to some uh uh other interested parties uh in Northwest Arkansas, and I I don't mind telling you uh because it's it's public. Uh Brian Hunt has a company called AAC, uh, which is um a collective that works, it's a it's a 501 uh uh C, I believe. 5013, yeah. Yeah, thank you. And so it's a charitable thing, whereas my you know, mine's for profit, but uh he serves another niche. But anyways, all this frustration and no answers, no communication, and so the long and short of it, January rolled around and the deadline and and the the window of opportunity closed and Jordan didn't get a football NIL deal. And I knew something wasn't right, and I knew, you know, what I had heard, and so um so what I did is I actively got involved and I started asking a lot of questions, and then um, you know, I d I it kind of just kind of evolved to where as the weeks went by, Jordan kept winning and winning and winning and winning. And and so uh some people started listening to me and asking me, What are you doing, Jed? What are you doing? And I said, Well, Jordan Anthony just happens to be one, but the the real problem was the overlying problem was these kids are getting all this money and no one's helping them. And helping them to the financial literacy part of it. Uh what to do with the money? What what to do? I mean, you know, create an LLC, they don't even know what an LLC is. They buy a car, they don't even know how to tag it. You know, I mean the all the things that we take for granted that someone showed us or helped us with, yeah, no, they're they're they're the you know, they're too busy perfecting their skills or you know, they're they're students, by the way.
SPEAKER_01:And or spending the money quickly.
SPEAKER_00:Oh yeah. I mean, think about it. If if I mean and and you've heard all the crazy, and if you haven't, I mean, there's people that haven't even played a snap in football in colleges that are making half million dollars. Okay, so so you have the inequity part of it, what makes this person worth, you know, NIL value of our I mean, other than Archie Manning, you know, I mean, not Archie, but uh who's the uh the grandson, yeah. Yeah, yeah, the quarterback from Texas, yeah, yeah. Archie, I guess is what he's referred to. But you know, not everyone's gonna come out and get a million dollar NIL deal.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But so there were some inequities, there was some unfairness, there was nobody knew what was going on. So so, anyways, once I got involved, um, then I started asking questions. Then I started uh, you know, figuring out that uh the collective down in Fayetteville that was called The Edge uh had to change in leadership. And frankly, you had football people trying to cut deals with players, and that's not good. They're not equipped to it, they it frustrates, and and so anyway, so that all happened. That all really happened, and so what came out of it was PSV. Here we go. Okay, yeah, pinnacle first of its kind of pinnacle sports ventures is literally the evolution of a need, and and usually that's where the great stories come in. Uh, is you know the fulfillment of a need.
SPEAKER_01:And your brand new few months, like big press release, big press.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I I announced publicly either in June or July uh with the launch of uh you know, so that everyone could understand what it was.
SPEAKER_01:And your first client is Scotty's uh Romani Thurman's daughter, so Scotty Thurman. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, one of the all-time great razorback basketball players.
SPEAKER_00:It was his hands uh that the ball left that won us our 1994 national championship. So uh great guy, he's been a great friend. He's actually on my advisory board, and so it was very fitting for me to uh sign Romani Thurman.
SPEAKER_01:So when you sign her, what what is so she's uh contracted with you, and what does that mean for her and what does that mean for you?
SPEAKER_00:Okay, okay. Uh so what it means for me is it gives me the opportunity to take an athlete uh and and put it in the P what I call the PSV mold. That mold is uh is really multifaceted. Financial literacy. Uh we we have partnered uh with a local financial institution that will actually uh come out publicly tomorrow. Uh very visible.
SPEAKER_01:You don't want to break any news on this podcast yet? I mean this won't be out for a few weeks.
SPEAKER_00:So United United Federal Credit Union uh is my founding sponsor. That's awesome. Fantastic. They share, uh, frankly, they share the three common uh values that PSV is founded on, and that is uh they they they know how to treat people. Right. Uh they know how to treat their employees, and they know how to treat in a credit union they call it members. And so I've had a longtime relationship with them as a member, and and now I've joined as a partnership because they're very people oriented. Um, they're community community oriented. I mean, you can't go anywhere in Northwest Arkansas without United Federal Credit Union being involved.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, they work for the Gens Place. They're good people. Yeah, they're great people.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and and um and and the last piece kind of fits into into it, and that's the love and passion for for the Razorbacks. Um and so what what I was able to do is build a business model uh that is actually twofold. One, there's the agency side of it, uh, with me being a sports agent. I'm also a United States um of America track and field coach that evolved through all this.
SPEAKER_01:So I want to pause on the agency. So if you have basketball player area, football player, you're gonna be negotiating deals with them with RFL NBA.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. That's cool. Yeah, yeah. So uh the way the way it works uh on the uh on the pro level, uh, which of course there'll be announcements to come. Uh so I partner with my uh attorney Chris Harris that's been with me for 20 years, uh, because I don't have time to go get my law degree, and I I certainly uh not gonna go back to school and get my sports marketing uh degree. And those are two of the things that you have to have. Um and so uh right now I'm licensed uh in Arkansas, soon to be California, uh, and then Texas. So I'm gonna stop there. Uh those those are big states, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So uh the reason why I'm in California is um I'll be announcing uh publicly some coaches that I uh have a relationship with. Um you know, you can read into it if you want. Uh Muscleman and Ruda were in Arkansas, and you know, they're happening to be in LA, and you know, there's a couple schools out there that I have relationships with. So uh we've got some coaches that are already on board that will be making announcements. But but essentially um, you know, the the agency side is the one thing, what I call the business side of it. And then the the fun part, if you will, or the fun side of it um is the marketing and sponsorship side of it, okay? And that's where the community involvement comes in. So there's two things that are in every one of my contracts, okay? No matter who they're with, literally. One is there's a zero tolerance for code of conduct, okay? We live, we live. Yeah, so you guys are out. Y'all, y'all, one of the bystanders.
SPEAKER_02:I'm gonna ask if you did any like senior contracts. Yeah, well, we He's on the way out on tennis, but he's gonna go to pick a ball.
SPEAKER_00:Well, being being almost a senior myself, so yes, there will be some senior love down the road. But right now we're focusing on the kids and the sponsors. Um but no uh code of conduct that wouldn't pass.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So uh in in light of all the the things that people do, and and we all know uh it's just bad choices. It's not it's not that they're bad people. Uh some of them might be, but uh just bad choices, Bobby, not bad choices. Yeah, yeah, so yeah, so I'll I'll be your life coach or mentor whenever you need me. Um but no, the the serious part of it is um, you know, the coaches and the athletes, they are so engulfed in preparation and and and their schedule and their structure. I mean, if you spend any time around any professional athletes or cleaned adjustment, it it's just it's crazy. It's unreal. It's a lot different than when when I grew up. They need teams. And so I look at it that I am filling a void um by starting a relationship, you know, for because that's where it starts. Um and then it moves into the business side. And so, for example, this is how it works. So I sign up an athlete, let's just say, for example, Romani Thurman. I have in the agreement a zero tolerance, but I also have in there um something that that I'm very passionate about too, and that is I've collaborated with the Northwest Arkansas with the food bank. Um it is again, uh hunger applies to everyone, and even in Northwest Arkansas, yes. I mean, look at all the food pantries, look at look at the lines and lines of people. So, yes, we are very blessed, but we are not uh by any means uh immune to some of the negative things uh in the community, and that is you know, the homeless. Yes, there are homeless. Okay, you may not see them like you do in San Francisco, but they're here. There's hungry people, and yes, they may work at Walmart, okay? It's not it's not who we might recognize, you know. So, anyway, so there's a lot of thought put into that. Now, with that said, I'll make it perfectly clear. In the contract, it also says that if you don't do uh the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, if you have some other community, you know, um oh, so you're mandating that they do some characters.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, it's it's mandatory, yes, 100%. Some type of charity.
SPEAKER_00:Some type. But but that's why I I I say little wiggle room. Yeah, yeah. There's a little wiggle room there. And and and the example that I always give is I I had an athlete one time that said, Hey, my family was touched by the Arkansas Children's Hospital.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And now that we have one up here, you could. Yeah, yeah. So so that would be a good example, you know, if if their lives have been touched by that, then then yeah, but but make no mistake, uh there's not going to be uh an athlete or coach that signs that's not involved in the condition.
SPEAKER_01:All right, all right. So I want to I want to we need to use the message. We need to bring the viewers into this. So for those that have been watching season one and all season two, they they've seen that Bobby here has lost a tremendous amount of weight. He's down to his playing weight. Almost. And let's just say that hypothetically he had a year of eligibility left. Okay. Yeah. Okay. And let's just say that he could go back and be an offensive lineman for the Razorbacks. Okay. Talk to me if he was to sign with you. Like, what would this look like? What are the expectations? Like, how would this work for Bobby?
SPEAKER_02:Let's start with the code of conduct.
SPEAKER_00:Anyone in the room there?
SPEAKER_02:I mean, you know, we all mess up once. Let me say this. Once a week?
SPEAKER_00:Okay. I'm friends with these people.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. Well, especially if it's a college student, right? First time in college, the money being thrown. The money, the drinking, the booking, the girls, the guys, the boys, all the boys.
SPEAKER_00:So so let's let's just say this. If if I were ever faced, uh, and maybe not you namely, but if I were ever faced with that, what what I would do, and this this is this is real talk, if I were ever faced with that that uh situation, it is truly a zero. So what I would do is I would look at the situation and evaluate it, make my own decision, just like the NFL does when they have uh, you know, someone like Stefan Diggs is out on a party boat, uh, you know, not doing the right things. Yes. Um, in today's society, everything is so visible that uh what I would do is I would get involved actively and there would be a suspension.
SPEAKER_01:Uh let's just assume Bobby would not make any mistakes. He's a he's good. Okay, all right. So that's my brand. And you can do that. We all know that's not the case, but let's just assume. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Now keep in mind the the the president's already said. My first two signees were Razorback royalty, Thurman and Mayberry. Okay. So with you coming in, this is what this is what it would look like. It's a big deal. First of all, I have to like you, which I do. Check.
SPEAKER_02:That's easy.
SPEAKER_00:Uh number two, uh I would have to do an evaluation of what I think uh you bring to the table as far as your worth. Okay, you know, because this is a profitable, and I can see the guns, okay? Yeah, but it's not just all physics.
SPEAKER_02:Like we may not get past two.
SPEAKER_00:No, no, we're like to check. I like what I see. I I can I can uh I can work with it. Okay. Hey, as you know, there there's a 30-year-old football player at the U of A. Monty uh Harrison, I think, is his name. The one that played MLB. I'm serious. He's 30 years old.
SPEAKER_02:I feel like I'm getting set up for something here.
SPEAKER_00:It's coming. But no, so so so you know, based on your value. So we like him and you can work with him. Yep, and you fit the PSV mold in that uh you're gonna be going to the University of Arkansas. Okay. Okay. Um you have uh according to uh you know uh your peers, uh you are um you have a lot of potential, okay? And frankly, you know, uh this could be your best year ever. Ever. Okay?
SPEAKER_01:Ever.
SPEAKER_00:And so for me, the ROI meter is probably probably going up off the limiter. Yeah. So at that point, we're gonna sit down and I'm gonna say, okay, how much do you want? Okay? Then we're gonna have a little bit of negotiation, okay? Because you're gonna think you're worth a heck of a lot more than what you really are. So do they just put a number out? They do, yeah, yeah. And there's some science to it. Uh and and again, that's part of the problem is they didn't know how to differentiate. Between someone that's an offensive lineman and someone that's a strong.
SPEAKER_01:He says he's worth a million dollars. Yeah, not even close.
SPEAKER_00:We're gonna start small. And you know, uh you're probably looking at anywhere from 30 to 50,000 a year on NIL, which by the way, the the average from what I've told, I don't I don't know if this is true, uh, but somewhere around twelve thousand dollars per person. Now that's all sports, okay. Sure. So um you know still that's payment for the stuff. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So this is on top of scholarships. This is now house money money. So this is spending, yeah. This is the full ride. Yeah. This is now getting paid on top of that. That's correct.
SPEAKER_02:Which I I think the bigger the biggest part for the individuals that you sp that you manage is the teaching them how to manage their money. Absolutely. Instead of just setting it on fire, it seems so so and that leaves perfect into it.
SPEAKER_00:So my banking career, managing a professional athlete, uh a race car driver who was at the pinnacle in his time. Yeah. The retail car business. And running multi-million. Yeah, all in a car, and and running multi-million dollar dealerships and understanding how that all works. Yeah, your resume speaks perfectly. Yeah, yeah, and and being a lifelong resident in Northwest Arkansas. And and so um I'm just gonna tell it the way it is, and I've said this in so many uh different settings that this this is probably the most authentic thing you're gonna get out of my mouth. And and it's real. Um and I think I may have mentioned this to you before. But through all that stuff that I described in that November, December, January, I look back on it and reflect on it, and essentially what happened was I did a lot of prayer because I didn't understand it and I wasn't equipped like I had been in other walks of life, you know. I wasn't educated and I I didn't have any answers. So I prayed. And then I prayed some more. And so the more I prayed, the more windows and opportunities presented themselves. Like no kidding, like stuff that shouldn't happen. Stuff that doesn't normally happen. I'm old enough to say that. I'm not a 20-year-old, you know, this is just starting out life. I I am able to evaluate and recognize that this is special. I have something special here. And so the prayer, then I had to prepare because it's like once I was given clarity, it was like, okay, now I need to prepare because now I have the wisdom and the skills and the vision. And then I reached out to a lot of our community members, and I don't mind telling you, I've got Dick Trammell involved on my advisory board, uh, Chris De Bell, the president and CEO of Pell Athletic, uh, Mike Hudson, um, who is the general manager of Pinnacle Country Club. Um I've got uh Matt Mars. Scotty, yeah, Matt Mars. Uh signed him up today. Big announcement. Uh, and then Scotty Thurman and Lee Maybury. So my two first signs, dads, who are my friends, lifelong friends, um, and they were coaches, they're fathers of athletes, they were athletes themselves. So again, it's like now it's the people. So it went from prayer to preparation to now the people part.
SPEAKER_01:So you could see the passion on your face, in your voice, like people in here, like, hey, this is a job, or like you could see how much you're loving what you're doing right now.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. For a lot of years I worked very, very hard. And I was very happy for a long time. But I was never my own boss. I always had to have two phones. I always had to be told what to do and how to do it, why to do it, and all that fun stuff. So when I got to this point where I knew that if I put all my passion and energy and blessings into my own thing, then I could change the world.
SPEAKER_01:Love it. And that's exactly what I'm saying. I love it. And what what one thing I want to say to you is I didn't get credit for negotiating at a million dollars and we put 12,000. That's how I think a million dollars. You're at 12,000. So let me.
SPEAKER_02:Let me tell you another thing. Uh so Josh gets six of the twelve.
SPEAKER_01:Hey, I get 15.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, there's plenty to go around. But no, hey, to that point, let me let me interject something that while we sit around and joke about it. So so here was another thing that came up. So the commission that the agents were charging, okay? So it's kind of like the mentality was let's get to the athletes as quick as we can, let's get a commission check as quick as we can, let's get it negotiated as quick as you can, and then on to the next.
SPEAKER_01:That's bad business.
SPEAKER_00:That's bad business. Yeah. Okay. So everyone that's been pushing me, I've just, every time they push me, what do you what's your normal reaction?
SPEAKER_02:You pull back.
SPEAKER_00:You pull back. So no one's gonna tell me at what speed I'm gonna do this, no one's gonna tell me what athletes I'm gonna sign. No one's gonna tell me who they think I should do. I mean, I'm I'm always welcome to input.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But I'm gonna do it my way. I love that. Because I've worked hard and I know what works. And and I know usually when you have something like this, greed and and the natural human tendencies come out, and our students are the ones that suffer. And so that's not gonna happen.
SPEAKER_01:So if Rob so if Rob happens to be a client in his ninth year of eligibility at the university, so and you go back to 12 grand, but uh do you go out and find him, company A, B, and C? Does company do they find like like what's your role? Do you bring stuff? Rob, this is a good fit for you. Absolutely. And they want to manage it. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:That's it. That's it. So I mean, and again, we can we can just talk so.
SPEAKER_01:So Taco Bell, right?
SPEAKER_00:That's a good fit for Bobby because Taco Bell wants to find the fourth meal. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So you know So you call Taco Bell and say, I got a guy here in Arkansas that embodies your brand to see.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you literally have to brand match. Yeah, and that's the fun part of it is because you know, what's good for an offensive lineman is not necessarily a good fit for a volleyball player or a rugby player.
SPEAKER_01:So I'm Taco Bell. Give me the pitch for Bobby. Like, like, how do you what do you what do you say here? Uh what in what regard? Like, hey, I got a guy that I can represent your brand.
SPEAKER_00:I just I I I I it's being negotiated, but I'll I'll just give you an example. Yesterday. So U of A reaches out to me uh and one of my clients and says, hey, we've been approached by XYZ Company. So I do a group text introduction, and then we meet with them, and this particular one was on an appearance in Northwest Arkansas. So I'm kind of like the middle man, if you will, to make sure you're negotiating. And again, people are so passionate about giving money to the to the program, they just want to be with the right athletes that align with their brands.
SPEAKER_01:So on the athlete side, you're just telling them you need to be here this date, trust me, and I'll have a check for you for being a good thing. 100%. It's that easy. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And again, it sounds easy, but when you're surrounded by people that trust and work together, that's that's where the magic happens. It's it's the relationship, it's not the money.
SPEAKER_01:Now, let me ask you a question. Because it's the transparency that the athlete would have to that check. Yes. So walk me through, because I've heard millions and millions of stories about millions and millions of dollars. And athletes are trusting people, yes, and their money is disappearing within age. So, how does that conversation happen before they show up? How are they clear on what they're getting and what they're gonna do?
SPEAKER_00:Okay, they're getting great. So the evolution, and again, I'm specifically talking about the University of Arkansas. That's what that's what we're talking about. Okay, they've developed, they brought in a gentleman by the name of Remy Caulfield. He came in from the Boston Celtics. He started as an interors were Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge. Okay, so that was the first step. In April, they brought in Remy Caulfield. Okay, he's been with Boston Celtics, he understands negotiations, he understands his role. Okay. That was in April. So he's been here trying to figure it out. The salary cap in July 1st, uh, for many people that don't know, but July 1st, the regulations were passed. There were many facets to it, but one was to go back and retroactive and pay students uh that were either wrongly paid or not paid at all. Okay, so there's a fund for that that'll take care of those. Then they came out with the salary cap. So$20.5 million is what the NCAA per university? Per university. Okay. Okay. Now, Arkansas has taken two million of that 20.5. Okay, so they're using$18.5 million to take care of the entire athletics program.
SPEAKER_01:Two million drops to the bottom line of the UK.
SPEAKER_00:Two million drops for scholarships. Okay. We had the U of A elected to take two million off the top. That's solid. Yeah, it is very solid. Because a lot of them didn't do that. Or if they did, they may have done it the right way. Who knows? But we did it, okay. So 18.5 million and then two million for scholarships. That's for the 20.5. That's in IL. Great. Then the other bucket is where PSV comes in, and it's called revenue sharing. It's for all the other sports except for basketball and football. Because the way that works is the more money the contract TV money, the more money that you're allocated in that. So that was Remy's job when he first got here was to divvy out, you know, and and start hiring people. And so he hired.
SPEAKER_01:So that 18.5 million is allocated for football and basketball?
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. So you're a baseball player, you're a track star, you're a softball player.
SPEAKER_00:They're all they're there.
SPEAKER_01:That's whatever.
SPEAKER_00:That's where that's the free for all. That's the free for all. That's where the the edge collective came in. That's where you're in the supplement. That's where I fit in. Again, me being the first.
SPEAKER_01:So you may have to do gymnastics.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, you'll you'll see. Floor dance.
SPEAKER_01:Pickleball.
SPEAKER_00:Everyone's going to be an agent. You'll see. Hey, just like in Northwest Arkansas, and when I was in the building boom at the bank, everyone wanted to be a builder. Okay? Well, it's the same thing. Everyone wants to be a builder, Matthew. Everyone wants to be an agent. You know, they're going to spend their but here's the deal. That's why I worked under the radar for a year, getting all the geo fences protected, getting all my ducks in a row, building the team. Because essentially, Sam Walton was my dad's mentor, my dad was my mentor, and I learned at a very young age that people are your most precious asset. So once I put together the team, it was very easy from there.
SPEAKER_01:So can you share the team? Can you talk about who's working with the team?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so uh so obviously I I've I've signed uh the two big names. Um I am working with uh I I you know I told the story about Jordan Anthony. He uh ended up uh going pro and track, and so uh I'm working with him. Um so Jordan Anthony, not only a hog, but now a professional uh track and field guy. Congrats, that's awesome. Uh so that's awesome. Uh there's one other track star from the U of A that I I can't uh just simply because I can't. Uh if I could, I would. But Shop put, Bobby? Uh I'll tell you, uh it's it's it's a very recognizable household name uh that's very visible in Northwest Arkansas, so that that will be uh on the horizon. Um I'm working with the University of Arkansas right now, uh, with the front office. We're gonna do a test. Uh and I I don't know which athletes uh that they're that I'm going to sign yet. I've been given in the last couple weeks, I've been given names, and so what I do is I decide if they meet the mold and do like what we were just talking about. And I either say yes or no. And I'm very selective. So that's that's going on.
SPEAKER_01:So are you getting a lot of inbound right now? Or are you outside a combination?
SPEAKER_00:I've turned away again. My focus is on the University of Arkansas and my relationship that I built with Muscleman and Ruta out out in LA.
SPEAKER_01:So are you working with Calipari in that group yet? Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yep, yep.
SPEAKER_00:Very, very deep relationships with the uh with the the basketball program.
SPEAKER_01:Very cool.
SPEAKER_02:You're gonna crush. What's that? You're gonna crush it. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, and the athletes need it.
SPEAKER_00:They need it and like I said, uh, I mean, I I have to believe this, y'all. I I literally have I started this, I've been preparing myself for this, and God has been preparing me for this. I just didn't know it. That's amazing. So when I did finally realize it, uh you can imagine.
SPEAKER_02:You're probably gonna see him down at suits and sneakers. Probably the maybe probably the best sneakers on, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. But no, it's uh guys.
SPEAKER_01:What if we started the the Razorback Pickleball Club? Okay, I mean I mean Josh, Josh would be the coach.
SPEAKER_00:All of a sudden, y'all, you know, right down the street at Pinnacle, they've got courses. I've they've got courts, so I could I could probably pull some strings and there's a big grudge match.
SPEAKER_01:It's supposed to be Matthew and myself against Bobby and Jim Corbett. Okay. And we're supposed to be playing for like rent mortgage checks. I mean it's a big deal. You guys are serious. Oh, it's a big deal.
SPEAKER_00:I thought we were doing this for fun.
SPEAKER_02:I thought we were playing for like Ruth Chris.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, I've got some good relationships. My brother works at Ruth Chris. I'm very good friends with Chef AJ and I'm very tight. We love it, though. We all love it. Yeah. Shout out to Ruth Chris. Shout out to Ruth Chris and AJ. Yeah, they're doing a great job. They're doing a great job. Yeah, no, uh, you know, when I went over there, I was at the soft opening with Scotty, in fact, and and ran into Kent Ike and Barry that night. We saw him that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's I was so uh so we're all there having that great time, and uh I didn't realize that it was the largest Ruth Chris. I knew that I know about the development because they have a development just like this up in Des Moines, and um my family uh we own a lot of land up in Iowa farming, and we were up there for a hog game in Des Moines, and we got to go over to um West Des Moines to see they were building very similar to that. So we got to see it about a year and year, a little over a year ago to see what it's gonna be like. But I mean, what an investment.
SPEAKER_02:It's amazing. It's amazing.
SPEAKER_00:And I don't know if y'all tried the little coffee shop in the parking lot.
SPEAKER_02:Not yet. Yeah, yeah. All the wives want to get it.
SPEAKER_00:Well, of course they do, but here's a little on the inside. Uh they actually use uh their own by Bruce Grues. Yeah, and and so they use their kitchen and so yeah, that's all but yeah, so it's it's kind of yeah, see these guys are on the other part of town, so they'll make it here in the evening, morning, they won't they won't come.
SPEAKER_01:They won't have your way for coffee.
SPEAKER_02:Well, Mallory went and got a bunch of the pastries. They're good. Yeah, so good. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Did she bring any home for you? Yeah. Oh Chad, we we could stay here for hours. And I want you to come back when you have more news to share. Anytime. Can you give up website?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, okay. So you so here's here's what I I've got a uh a Facebook page, which is just simply Pinnacle Sports Ventures, so you can get on there, like it, whatever. But uh we will launch our website in the next couple weeks. I've been working on it. Uh and it's it'll be uh it'll be really exciting. Uh and it's a local company, so that's another thing that y'all need to understand. I'm so local-minded uh that everything that that we do here is gonna be.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and these types of businesses are out in LA, they're in New York. Oh yeah, like this is like doing this here. That's what makes it important.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and and you can imagine how welcoming the U of A have been. Because now they have someone they trust that's 20 minutes up the road. I mean it's like Entourage.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, kind of.
SPEAKER_00:It kind of is.
SPEAKER_02:But no, you you guys are now. Yeah, we just gotta get Matt to fix his Lincoln. Yeah. Right.
SPEAKER_00:But no, I I will say this um that I um I'm very humble uh and I I come from good stock. Um but when I say that I am very blessed, most people associate that with money. So I want to make it very clear that it's it's the people in Northwest Arkansas that helped make this happen. Okay. It it wasn't the the the money, you know, it it wasn't um, you know, that my dad is, you know, on the board of the U of A or anything like that. It was so organically uh scripted that um that I can't even imagine how how I I am so blessed to have this opportunity. But I'm gonna pay it for it so well that this community will understand.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and I think I like I I don't know you that well. We're starting to get to know each other, but every time I talk to you, you you're saying things like this, not for the sake of the camera, but how humbled you are and how you want to pay it back, and how how we our paths crossed and it's been meaning, and like I'm I'm watching you say these things, and and it's like some people say these things but don't have the actions to back it up. I can tell that you are going to yeah, I can tell right away.
SPEAKER_00:It's it's almost like it seeps, and and what's what's it's not funny, it's just very uh enlightening to me is I've been told that so many times that I know how how much of a need it is. And I know that people in Northwest Arkansas have been starving to have people like me, and there's a lot of them like me, that have come in here and made a difference. And that's all I'm trying to do. I'm trying to give back to the community uh that has blessed me beyond imagination, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do. And I'm not gonna stop until I get it done. Perfect way, yeah. Who cares? Congratulations, very excited. Yeah, yeah. Thank you for coming back.