A Texas-based firm has become one of the first independent wealth managers to ink a name, image and likeness deal with a standout student-athlete.
Intercontinental Wealth Advisors this week announced a partnership and sponsorship with
But his connection to the San Antonio firm goes deeper than being a spokesman. Also at Intercontinental is
Harris, who also played safety for the Roadrunners and considers Wisdom a brother, was the driving force behind the partnership. They entered the university at the same time and quickly became inseparable.
Despite being older than Wisdom, Harris said he has always been impressed with the way his younger counterpart has carried himself on and off the field. As Intercontinental considered new branding opportunities, Harris felt the local kid leading his team to the top of Conference USA was a perfect fit.
But Harris also sees the partnership as the next step toward his ultimate goal of helping young athletes manage their money smarter from the start and providing financial advice from a perspective that matches their own.
“You hear all these negative stories about wealth management and some of these athletes who have been taken advantage of like Tim Duncan. I wanted to be there to change the narrative,” Harris said. “I won’t be playing, but I want to be there as someone that these guys can relate to, someone these guys can trust and someone that can help them with their financial load.”
Agreements that allow college athletes to profit from contracting out their names, images or likenesses — also known as NIL — have become a hot topic since the NCAA’s groundbreaking summer decision to clear the way for such deals.
Under the new guidelines, college players can now earn money based on their celebrity without impacting their eligibility or violating amateurism rules. It applies to all three NCAA divisions, including about 460,000 athletes.
It’s also new sponsorship territory for the financial services industry, which previously had to limit its presence at the collegiate level to naming stadiums or sponsoring bowl games.
Harris said that with an older brother and dozens of friends in the NFL, he never questioned that his next life would take him there as well.
But a concussion during his final season as a Roadrunner made him re-evaluate his future and how he could best support the men he once competed against on the gridiron.
“I was unconscious for about 45 minutes. After that I was left to ask myself, ‘What do I want to do next?’” Harris said. “I knew I could graduate in finance or play another year and put my body through basically hell again. So I decided to get into wealth management and see my future with the NFL in a different light.”
With a love for math, a strong desire to enter the industry and his Series 65 license in tow, Harris was able to meet
“That took me to where I am now, and that's been nothing but a blessing and a great opportunity,” Harris said.
Kauth is also excited about the future with Harris and Wisdom as part of the Intercontinental family. Giving back to the San Antonio community is a top priority for his firm, and being able to work with two UTSA stars as they continue to develop in different ways was an “obvious decision” for him to make.
“It's rewarding to get to know these young people and to know the community. It's something more people should do, whether they get any business out of it or not,” Kauth said. “That's part of corporate responsibility, and that's part of the responsibilities of being a citizen in your own city.”
He shares Harris’ passion for helping athletes make sense out of their complex and unique financial situations. He also saw the value of having a former player on his team long before the Wisdom deal was put in motion.
Before the start of the football season, but shortly after Harris joined the firm, the UTSA head coach asked Intercontinental reps to speak to the team. With plenty of experience as a lecturer at his alma mater, Texas A&M, Kauth figured he would lead the discussion about financial responsibility and planning for life after football.
But Harris, Kauth said, stepped up and set the tone.
“SaVion said, ‘no, I think I need to start because I know these guys and I have the credibility.’ So he's taking the ball and running with it,” Kauth said. “We went there, and as soon as we walked in the room, he got a standing ovation. You can tell everybody in that room loves SaVion. So it was a joyous day, and I think we gave them a lot of good advice because of that.”
He added that Harris allows Intercontinental to overcome some of the challenges of working with athletes and other young clients coming into a great deal of money quickly with little certainty of how long that income will last.
“The skill set and the advice that we need to give these young people is very different from what you give a 70-year-old gentleman who's not working anymore and has built this huge net worth,” Kauth said. “So it's an interesting challenge on the professional side.”
Harris, meanwhile, is focused on honing his skills as an advisor, just like he did as a player. He said his client list currently includes athletes in the NFL, MLB and WNBA.
But no matter who he works with, he is focused on building real relationships and not transactional ones. He hopes that the work he puts in creates positive word of mouth and lets other athletes know they have someone who understands them at Intercontinental.
“I want the community and even the college sports world to know that we're really here for the players, no matter if we get business from it or not,” he said. “We're gaining the trust to where we can start to help manage these guys even earlier. Not five years in, but as soon as they sign that rookie deal and in that second contract. We want to continue to build that relationship.”
Wisdom and the Roadrunners will play against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the Conference USA championship game on Friday.
Intercontinental’s new spokesman has started every game in his junior season. At the end of his sophomore season, Wisdom was named a First-Team All-Conference USA honoree.
