Connor Choate, Allyn Stephens, Mikey Gow, Keondre Coburn, and Ali Russell will Each Monetize Their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) with Fans
NIL leaders Stefan Aguilera and Jacob Piasecki, founders of the A&P Agency today announced a partnership with Atlanta-based Fans Meet Idols (www.FansMeetIdols.com) to connect superstar college and high school football and Olympic sport athletes with their loyal fans.
A&P offers firsthand, high-quality, ethical representation for athletes across several sports at the collegiate level. Once signed with A&P, athletes are guided towards the preeminent steps to advance their careers and they also receive a strong understanding of what not to do. Even though the clients are well-advised, their own personal voices are encouraged and nourished. Each client is presented with a unique approach tailored to highlight their excellence in the best possible light. Being authentic and communicating one’s personalized message is crucial, as it allows the player’s audience to interact with them effectively. The A&P partners encourage their clients to give back to their communities like they do. Everything they do is designed to ensure that students, alumni, fans, and the media from the players’ respective schools feel a connection and pride in their team.
Fans can Shop each Athlete’s Storefront and order Customized Merchandise, Digital Experiences, Web3 Goods and Book Appearances at App.FansMeetIdols.com.
Five of these athletes participating in the relationship with Fans Meet Idols are profiled below:
Connor Choate is the senior deep snapper of the Texas A&M football team who was named the 12th Man ahead of the 2021 season. He is wearing the illustrious number 12 during the 100th anniversary season of A&M's original 12th Man, originating with E. King Gill in 1922. Choate played in all twelve games as the team's primary deep snapper and earned the Special Teams, “Mr. Dependable Award” at the annual team banquet. As a sophomore, Choate played in all ten games as the team's primary deep snapper and was named Special Teams MVP. As a freshman, he played in all thirteen games as the team’s primary deep snapper, and he earned Special Teams “Newcomer Award” at the annual team banquet.
Ali Russell is a forward owning 50 Aggie caps, including seven starts, logging 1,443 minutes on the pitch. She has logged nine career points on two goals and five assists. As a junior, she appeared in thirteen matches, all off the bench, registering 350 minutes. Russell notched two assists on the season – one each against Sam Houston (9/3) and Southern (9/8). She tallied a season-high 59 minutes against UTEP (9/5). As a sophomore, Russell played in sixteen matches, including five starts, registering 496 minutes in total. She posted five points on two goals and one assist and registered her first career goal against Mississippi State (10/16). Russell logged an assist against LSU (11/6), and she played a season-high 59 minutes against Ole Miss (9/19). She scored a goal in the Sweet 16 match of the NCAA tournament against Oklahoma State (5/5). As a freshman, Russell appeared in twenty-one games, including two starts, playing 596 minutes in total. She earned her first collegiate start with a career-high 64 minutes of action in 0-0 draw at Pepperdine (8/25). She registered two assists on the season and made her collegiate debut, seeing 36 minutes of action in season-opening victory at No. 13 Santa Clara (8/23).
Mikey Gow is a superstar ambidextrous 6-1, 170-pound Quarterback from Bellevue, Nebraska. This high school sensation is set to change the game as he is one of the only known quarterbacks to be ambidextrous. At 14 years old, Gow is already taking the football world by storm. He has visited Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Texas, and has considered many other DI colleges. Thanks to a viral video, the interest in him has skyrocketed. He is accurate and huge for a quarterback. He was big enough to be playing offensive line for his high school team- Bellevue East High. In sixth grade, he played offensive line, but he really wanted to play receiver. His dad advised him to play quarterback. Taking his dad’s advice and considering his 6-1 size, Gow already has numerous scouts after him. He stated, “If I can become the first known to be able to do it all the time ambidextrous quarterback, which would be amazing.”
Keondre Coburn - This defensive lineman at the University of Texas (Austin) is a fifth-year senior as he took a redshirt freshman year. He has played in thirty-eight career games starting thirty-three of them. He is a 2022 third-team All-Big 12 Preseason selection by Athlon Sports and was named preseason fourth-team All-Big 12 by Phil Steele in 2022. He was selected to the 2021 Bednarik Award preseason watch list and was a third-team All-Big 12 Preseason selection by Athlon Sports in 2021. He was named a fourth-team All-Big 12 Preseason selection by Phil Steele in 2021 and was named All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2020 and 2021.He earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2021, a first-team preseason All-Texas selection by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine in 2020 and was an All-Big 12 Preseason selection by Phil Steele in 2019 and 2020. He is a three-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (spring 2020, fall 2020, spring 2021). As a junior, he started all but one game and registered fifteen tackles, nine of them being solo tackles. As a sophomore, he started in all ten games and registered twenty-five tackles, thirteen solo tackles. As a freshman, he started in all but one game and registered twenty-six tackles, 18 solo.
Allyn Stephens is a freshman for the Women’s Golf Team at Texas A&M. She is currently ranked 484th in the world for the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA). In her junior year of high school, Stephens won the AJGA Shreveport shooting a 34-35-69-71 and she finished third in the Patrick Reed AJGA Junior Championship, carding an 8-over 223. She is rated the No.3 golfer in the Lone Star State and is the No.39 recruit overall in the class of 2022.
A&P is in the brand business. Personal Branding for athletes and alliances with companies who benefit from the athletes’ high engagement and vast social media followings. The content team creates personalized media for each player to increase their value. It is a marriage, run by the team of Jacob Piasecki, Stefan Aguilera, and Tony Buzbee, who have given college athletes the chance to have a consistent cash flow and an opportunity to promote themselves. “The world’s best agency,” aka A&P, is a game changer for college athletes.
“When I came up with the idea of opening an NIL agency, I pitched the idea to Jacob and he immediately embraced the idea,” says Mr. Aguilera. “Jacob has experience on the business side securing positive returns partnering with brands using influencers, while I came more from the influencer perspective proposing social media campaigns for business to get that ROI. We really are an effective team. Tony and I connected as he was an early fan of my magazine and he loved our plan for the company and came on board,” he explains.
Fans Meet Idols was founded in July 2020 to help Student-Athletes (SA) monetize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) with Fans. Fans do not judge an individual based on how many followers they have, or how big their brand is. They are a Fan because of who the student-Athlete already is.
Steve Kennedy, Founder of Fans Meet Idols, said, “We believe the broadest opportunities for the majority of Student-Athletes to capitalize on NIL is through Fan Engagement, which is why we created this Direct-to-Fan marketplace. Our mission is to help Student-Athletes become Entrepreneurs while giving back to their communities,” he said.
Jacob Piasecki said, “We are thrilled to be aligning our clients with Fans Meet Idols. Steve Kennedy loves student athletes and is such a champion for their success. We look forward to developing a relationship with his company that gives fans an opportunity to support their favorite players and encourages the athletes to be supportive of organizations that are important to them.”
On July 1, 2021, a NCAA policy change became effective permitting Student-Athletes to profit from their publicity rights, otherwise known as Name, Image & Likeness (NIL). NIL means that college athletes can now earn and accept money doing commercial endorsements, appearances, and monetizing their engagement with Fans. A&P makes the deals that can truly enhance an athlete’s college experience. Run by the team of Jacob Piasecki, Stefan Aguilera, and Tony Buzbee, A&P offers firsthand, high-quality, ethical representation for athletes across several sports at the collegiate level. A&P encourages their clients to give back to their communities like they do.
Media inquiries: For additional information about the A&P Agency, Fans Meet Idols or to schedule an interview with the company’s’ principals, please contact Amy Levy Public Relations at 310-444-5250 or amy@amylevypr.com