James Moore Partners with FanWord as an Official “Education Partner”

James Moore & Co. has entered into a partnership with FanWord as one of its official “Education Partners” of its newly launched FanWord Coach platform. The FanWord Coach forum will implement online courses, live workshops, and protective resources from trusted industry professionals that help guide athletic departments and student-athletes in the ever-growing landscape of name, image and likeness (NIL).

“We strongly believe name, image and likeness should be about more than the promotion of a few star athletes at major schools. FanWord’s vision of preparing and protecting athletic departments of all sizes and budgets—and inclusion of all student-athletes—made this partnership a no brainer,” said Katie Davis, Collegiate Athletics Lead Partner. “We are truly excited for this opportunity.”

“Helping student-athletes navigate and understand their financial responsibilities is imperative to preparing student-athletes for the new NIL era. James Moore & Co. is a leader in the financial & tax education space and will add tremendous value to our partners and their student-athletes,” commented Christopher Aumueller, CEO of FanWord. “Their experience in college sports and philosophy regarding NIL perfectly align with ours. FanWord is all about providing student-athletes with the right solutions to build, grow, protect, and monetize their personal brands, and we’re excited to have James Moore & Co. support us on this journey.”

Allowing student-athletes to profit from NIL use gives them a “piece of the pie” without the university directly paying them for performance. The platform will help educate student-athletes, coaches, staff and administration on financial knowledge, effects of NIL and maneuvering through this new landscape safely.

Topics to be addressed include:

• How should they report this income?
• When does state nexus come into play?
• What impacts does it have on scholarships?

By partnering with our firm’s Individual Tax Services Team, James Moore’s collegiate athletics CPAs help student-athletes navigate these changes and guide them to make the best financial choices for the future.

The collegiate athletics industry’s new era begins in July 2021 as legislation governing student-athletes NIL will go into effect in states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi and New Mexico. Six other state governments have also passed legislation that will go into effect in 2022 and 2023 in hopes that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will form an official opinion and craft guidelines and rules of uniformity across its three institutional levels of competition.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) took the lead on NIL legislation on Oct. 6, 2020, passing national legislation with overwhelming support from its membership. NAIA leaders recognized that “doing what was right for our student-athletes outweighed any potential issues and taking no action now would likely force some NAIA schools to choose between compliance with state laws and NAIA rules.”

James Moore’s higher education and collegiate athletics CPAs are closely tracking changes in NIL legislation and financial aid implications. Please reach out to us if you have questions about the impact of these developments.

James Moore, founded in 1964, is a regional firm with offices in Daytona Beach, DeLand, Gainesville and Tallahassee, Florida. The firm specializes in providing tax, auditing, accounting and controllership, technology solutions, consulting, human resources and wealth management services.

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