Win AD, the college-focused business that provides a wide range of contractual information for athletic directors, is bringing in Charlotte-based attorney MATT KELLY to serve as a consultant for its school clients. Kelly, a contract attorney who specializes in negotiating deals for coaches and ADs, will be part of a new offering called Win AD+. The service makes Kelly available to consult with schools on employee contracts or multimedia rights agreements, shoe and apparel deals or any other revenue opportunities. “We heard clients saying they wanted to go deeper in the data and, often, they needed additional support in contract negotiations,” said Win AD Dir of Sales & Marketing KEVIN BAREFOOT. “Now they have the option of adding Matt to help negotiate employment and revenue agreements.” Barefoot was part of the team that launched Win AD in '09. The idea was to create a one-stop shop where college administrators could access a variety of employment contracts and rights deals from many different schools. Until then, salary information and revenue contract terms were mostly spread by word of mouth. By inquiring with schools continuously throughout the year, Win AD is able to aggregate contracts on its website. Subscriptions to the site are limited to ADs only. The business does not release many details about its growth, but Barefoot said nearly all Power Five schools are clients. Three schools, including Washington, are working with Kelly now as a contract consultant.
STAYING ON TOP OF THINGS: While most schools have general counsels who write and review contracts, they might go a year or two or more between deals, whereas Kelly is doing contract work in the college space each week, enabling him to stay on top of industry trends. “An engagement could be as simple as reviewing and optimizing employment contracts to specific aspects of a coach’s contract extension,” Kelly said. “As these contracts have gotten more and more lucrative, schools are looking for guidance on trends and best practices.”
