Syracuse Head Football Coach Fran Brown Signs With NIL Agency
By Darian Kelly
Last Updated on May 21, 2025
Syracuse head football coach Fran Brown has become the first coach to sign with Network, a sports marketing agency. While high school and collegiate athletes build their brands to capitalize on name, image, and likeness opportunities during their playing careers and beyond, Brown has taken a similar approach as a coach.
Brown believes Network will be instrumental in helping build his brand off the field.
“I’m thrilled to work with Network and take the next step in building my personal brand, exploring new partnership opportunities and business ventures,” the Syracuse coach said.
Brown’s coaching philosophy has been essential to his success on the field and in his brand. He is well known for characterizing the acronym D.A.R.T., which stands for detailed, accountable, relentless, and tough. Network collaborated with Brown to produce merchandise with the acronym he sported on the sideline at the Orange’s Spring Game. The idea of Network partnering with a coach came from legendary sports agent David Falk.
“When we started Network, we weren’t pretending to, nor considering to get into the coaching world,” Network’s Chief Strategy Officer Doug Scott told Front Office Sports. “It really was the energy and essence of who Fran was, to where we decided that, yes, this is somebody that we really want to see be successful. And we think there’s a little bit of a void in the marketplace right now.”
Additionally, Coach Brown has gone viral on social media for his wildly entertaining quotes during his interviews. One in particular that had the college football buzzing was when he revealed how he handles losing football games.
“Like, when we lose, I ain’t even get in the shower til earlier this morning,” Brown told CBS Sports. “I just be mad. I just brush my teeth. It’s like I don’t deserve soap. I don’t deserve to do all that.
“Winners get washed,” he added. “I’m a loser, so I just kinda waited a little bit.”
Regardless of how you feel about how Brown holds himself accountable, he is authentic and holds himself and his players to a high standard of excellence. Syracuse finished 10-3 last season and capped off the 2024 season with a 52-35 victory over Washington State in the DIRECTV Holiday victory.
Like many college football coaches in the NIL era, Brown has been outspoken about how players navigate NIL and the transfer portal. Brown has voiced his opinions about how there should only be one portal period for players to transfer and how players should set aside a portion of their NIL earnings. Beyond Brown’s pursuit of expanding his brand, he hopes to have a continued influence over the evolving landscape of college athletics.
