Winston Venable

NFL & CFL AGENT | NIL & College Advisory | Boise State Football Alum | Former Chicago Bear

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

@heitner @sports_mom_u Character and integrity aren’t guaranteed by a license.

[Columbus Aviators @UFLAviators]

🦵💥

JONAH DALMAS MAKING 61-YARDS LOOK EASY!

[The San Francisco Standard @sfstandard]

He grew up in a Giants family, in a Giants town, and learn from a decorated Giants manager. But Will Venable has found a home managing the Chicago White Sox, one of baseball’s best stories of the year.

📝: @JohnSheaHey https://t.co/WAmL5zaetn

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

Congrats to Jonah Dalmas on his first professional kick from 48. It’s good.

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

High effort will take you a long ways in sports. Sox have been out working their opponents.

[Scott Merkin @scottmerkin]

"We play other teams that on paper might have more talent than us, but we are competing with them and beating them because we play harder, we run harder, have more energy in the dugout." Great insight from my talk with Will Venable in my Newsletter today: https://t.co/TNqSxNYKeW

[3DownNation @3DownNation]

Toronto Argonauts sign Alex Teubner after release from B.C.

https://t.co/5N99YyYBGy

#Argos #Toronto #BCLions #CFL

[Columbus Aviators @UFLAviators]

Another weapon added to the flight deck 😤

Welcome to Columbus, Jonah Dalmas ✈️

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

Representation is not just negotiating bigger deals.

It’s also about helping athletes and families understand what they’re signing.

Contract language, payment structures, and termination clauses matter. Good agents have legal resources around them to help protect athletes.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

Some schools are withholding final #NIL payments by invoking transfer portal clauses even after the athlete has fulfilled every obligation in the contract. That's a problem. Perhaps the deeper problem is that these contracts are not really NIL agreements.
https://t.co/SogaiBTFlW

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

This is exactly why representation and contract review matter.
Not to create conflict, to help athletes understand what they’re signing in an increasingly professional environment.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

Over the past week, I have reviewed dozens of #NIL agreements across the country. The market continues to mature, but certain issues keep surfacing in negotiations. Here are some of the things I'm finding:

Payment structures have grown far more sophisticated. I'm seeing more hybrid deals that combine guaranteed upfront payments with performance bonuses tied to specific deliverables and some deals that contain no guarantees whatsoever. Any non-guaranteed income could leave athletes chasing money they were orally promised.

Termination clauses remain the most heavily negotiated provision. One-sided, "sole discretion," termination rights without notice or cure periods are concerning.

Post-termination rights and IP ownership remain areas of emphasis. I specifically look for "perpetual" and "irrevocable" grant of rights or extended licenses in my review. Athletes should want rights (other than limited archival rights) to expire cleanly when the deal ends.

These are real business contracts with real dollars and real consequences. Athletes and their advocates need to treat them that way. The deeper the NIL industry develops, the more important it is for athletes to retain experienced counsel to walk them through every material term before signing.

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

And now it’s official.
Pre enrollment representation is here.
PRO ball has already been here, now it’s being formalized.

[NCAA News @NCAA_PR]

DI Cabinet adopts changes to eligibility rules for prospects. Discussions about additional eligibility rules updates continue.

https://t.co/aaFB9fMZhe

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

There’s a lot of noise around agents right now.
The reality is simple, athletes are making real business decisions earlier than ever.
The right guidance matters. The wrong kind doesn’t help anyone.

[Adam Breneman @AdamBreneman81]

Texas Tech GM told me NIL and revenue sharing have changed everything and because of that, every college athlete should have an agent.

There are bad agents out there…

But there are a lot of good ones too.

For most players, it makes a real difference.

⬇️

@USAT

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

Pre enrollment representation is moving closer to a real pro model, not just NIL.
That’s a positive but only if athletes have the right people around them.
Earlier access without education equals more risk.

[NCAA News @NCAA_PR]

The DI Cabinet has adopted these changes to preenrollment eligibility rules.

The decision is not final until the Cabinet's meeting concludes Wednesday.

[White Sox on CHSN @CHSN_WhiteSox]

Paulie believes the Sox have their guy👀

Stream the White Sox all season long: https://t.co/4hxfZL4bPr

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

Separate business from ball. Best interest for everyone.

[Ross Tucker Podcast @RossTuckerPod]

“I tell the coaches I deal with… Stay OUT of it. Let's identify the players you want. Let the professionals handle the business side.”

@AndrewBrandt shares the advice he tells his College Football coaches when it comes to NIL deals:

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

@kameronpayne27 @chaparralpumafb @Coach_Ramer @CoachDeeWR @CoachRexRhino @coach_jpayne @PGregorian @GregBiggins @YoungPapaBrock Keep working hard Kameron! Nice improvements. It won’t go unnoticed.

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

I love sharing my NFL & CFL experiences with younger athletes. You don’t know what you don’t know. Then you go north and find out quickly. Check your ego at the border. Or it will get checked for you.

[Pro Stats Canada (PSC) @ProstatsC]

Jeff Garcia LIVED both leagues: CFL All‑Star, NFL Pro Bowler, and he’s telling you the truth some fans don’t want to hear: the talent gap is not as big as most believe, but the opportunity gap is massive!

Sunk cost fallacy in action!

Explained on page 59 of #BushLeagueBook

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

@onuss_ “salary”

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

The worst thing an agent can do is inflate expectations, promise money or landing spots that aren’t real, and leave a player stranded.

That gets you exposed fast. Players talk. Coaches talk. Agents like that don’t last.

The whole system needs to get better for young athletes.

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

College sports wanted rules and structure. Now athletes are being asked to trust unclear deals and uncertain systems ..and the risk continues to fall on the player.

[Darren Heitner @heitner]

Schools: "We desperately need clear NIL rules!"
CSC creates rules.
Schools: immediately use MMR partners to circumvent $20.5M revenue-sharing caps.
CSC this week: These deals "likely do not comport with the rules."
Oh, the irony!
https://t.co/wTJj6WhON4

[Winston Venable @WinstonVenable]

In pro sports, contracts are always reviewed. College athletes signing rev-share or NIL agreements deserve the same protection. Discouraging review or working with your representation is a red flag.