Penn State Football: Sean Clifford Launches NIL Agency

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford announced the launch of his own name, image and likeness [NIL] agency on Sunday evening with the aim to help student-athletes navigate new regulations and opportunities across college athletics.

In an interview with ESPN, Clifford announced the aims and motivation behind launching Limitless NIL as well as his own experiences in the new era of student-athlete business ventures.

According to the story written by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Clifford made more than $100,000 last season through NIL deals but found the experience lacking.

“It’s the agency that I was looking for that I couldn’t find,” Clifford told Thamel. “It’s for the players, by the players. I wanted to do something to leave even more of a legacy than just on the field. And I thought that this was kind of the way that I wanted to go.”

“A lot of bigger agencies lack the strategy for content creation and the marketing specialty,” Clifford continued. “What athletes should be posting day in and out. How they should be building their brand and interacting with the community.”

Since the launch of the agency in January, Clifford has attracted five separate clients headlined by Penn State guard Myles Dread and senior safety Ji’Ayir Brown. The full list of current clients is as follows:

• Ji’Ayir Brown, Penn State football safety
• Myles Dread, Penn State men’s basketball guard
• Anna Camden, Penn State women’s basketball forward
• Ishaan Jagiasi, Penn State men’s basketball guard
• Brendan Bates, Kentucky football tight end

Clifford’s brother and wide receiver Liam Clifford is set to serve as the agency’s director of development. Meanwhile, former Penn State football player Aeneas Hawkins, who medically retired from Penn State football in January, will serve as its chief athletic officer.

“Sean has demonstrated great passion, interest and creativity early on in this NIL space and has gained invaluable business experiences,” football head coach James Franklin told ESPN. “He has taken advantage of the NIL opportunities presented to him, but he has also taken it upon himself to educate his teammates on the impact NIL can have. We are supportive of what Sean has done with NIL to this point, and I hope to see more of our student-athletes take advantage of similar opportunities in the future, just as Sean has.”

In late March, Penn State Athletics announced its own NIL plans, partnering with the advising and education firm Altius Sports Partners (Altius) to further advance the school’s NIL program.