Hashtag Sports Panel Announcement: What’s Fair Game? The Future of Athlete Media Rights

INFLCR is pleased to invite you to a 2019 Hashtag Sports Panel, led by our own founder and CEO, Jim Cavale.

Join us on Thursday, June 27th, at TimesCenter in NYC, as Jim leads a discussion on the future of athlete media rights with a panel including a recently-drafted NFL player, NCAA conference commissioner, university head football coach, and a media company executive.

Our panelists include:



Benny Snell Jr (Pittsburgh Steelers):

“When the importance of branding started hitting home last college season, the future started getting brighter. I realized, these are the things I want to do: I want to be able to have my own company. Staying interactive, being able to sell clothing. Being able to open my own real estate. And the dreams just started getting bigger. It really grew on me over time, and investing in my brand was the best decision I’ve ever made, in college.

I just have to say it’s an honor to be able to be at this event. I’m able to speak and I’m able to be myself the whole time. Guys like Dana White, and even if it’s a former player, it’s going to be something that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.

I’m really looking to express who I am on the field as well as off the field, and I feel like I’m going to take Hashtag as a learning experience. I’m going to make it clear who Benny Snell Jr. is when my chance comes, but I’m going to have fun along the way, and I’m going to learn every step I can.”


Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech Head Football Coach):

“In this day & age coaches have different paths to take regarding ‘Social Media’:

1) Hide from it and limit their players’ platforms or 2) Embrace it and educate/ elevate players’ voices across all platforms.

We obviously choose the second and put our players’ ”Brand Management” at the forefront of their development. I want our players to leave Georgia Tech with brands on social that they are proud of, their families and friends are proud of, and ultimately, their future employers (in the NFL & beyond) are attracted to.

We’ve always tried to be intentional and do things different with our football programs and what we are building at Georgia Tech has digital presence and social media at its core. So the chance to speak on this topic with an audience of sports professionals that are the future of our industry and with Jim [Cavale], who is leading this disruptive digital charge for our partner INFLCR, is a huge honor.”


Amy Huchthausen (Commissioner, America East Conference):

“Storytelling should be a shared endeavor that both captures multiple perspectives and reaches a variety of audiences. Athletes play an essential role because they bring the authenticity that only they can provide, and that authenticity is what stands out in the cluttered newsfeed of content.

It’s critical that we use the best tools and capabilities available to tell our #3Pillars story. It is especially imperative as a non-Power 5 league that we use the power of our entire network to extend the reach of our schools and conference.

Hashtag Sports is one of the premier sports conferences around and I’m thrilled with the opportunity to share what we’ve learned with such an esteemed audience and collection of speakers.”


Bruce Odle (President, USA Today Sports Images):

“I believe it’s well established that social media platforms are new primary sources of news information for individuals, and, it stands to reason, should be platforms for individuals to share newsworthy information, specifically tell their personal stories and/or share their opinions, much the way professional news organizations go about it.

I view social media platforms as ‘personal publishing platforms’ and as long as it’s for a pure editorial purpose and not a direct or indirect means to sell or promote a product, and individuals abide by the same restrictions and policies as professional news organizations, I support the use of our images by student-athletes on social media.

We are a leading producer of original sports digital content covering 10,000 sporting events in the US each year through our national network of dedicated sports photographers, yet sports is a dynamic, global ecosystem and we’re just humbled to be invited to contribute to the conversations.”


We’re thrilled to have such a diverse group of individuals on the panel, who we feel will provide valuable and personal insights into the complexities of media rights and athlete usage. Here’s the full summary from Hashtag Sports:

“How will traditional media companies evolve their content rights policies so that the athletes, coaches and other brand ambassadors with influential followings, can access and share the content they are actually co-creating? With the growing speed of information and media sharing, and the increasing value that athletes can create by using their own likeness, this will be a multi-dimensional conversation that includes all perspectives on this topic.”

See the full agenda


Client Success

Social Brand Study

Social Trends

Download INFLCR’s “Social Media Content Guide for College Athletics: 2018-2019 College Football Edition”

June 16, 2019

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