‘Players representing players’: Why former NC State WR Jackson DeSilva founded his own NIL agency

As walk-on wide receiver Jackson DeSilva went through his NC State career, he had a front row seat to the ever-evolving landscape of college football. He watched NIL enter the space, growing from a small operation to collectives and now university-sponsored revenue sharing. Although he wasn’t a beneficiary of large sums of money heading in his direction, NIL still impacted DeSilva’s life. He was able to connect with local business owners, creating relationships that he feels he’ll carry for the rest of his life.  DeSilva, who has a strong entrepreneurial mindset, had his perspective shift while he was at NC State. He knew he wanted to start a business after his football career ended last fall — he is the co-founder of Yard U — but he felt like there was an untapped way of entering the NIL space.  Enter DeSilva Management, which prides itself on the slogan of “players representing players.”