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We, as a franchise community, have an undeniable affinity for athletes in franchising. Why? Partly because of our fascination with celebrities. Partly because we love a good story. Partly because we believe athletes can follow a playbook. And partly because of the PR power that comes with it.All of that is fair. But the real question becomes: how do we get in front of athlete franchise buyers? Where are they—and why would they want to buy?In this special Franchising Coffee &amp; Analytics episode, I'm joined by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmartinelli/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=athletes-in-franchising-2730529" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">John Martinelli</a> from<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmartinelli?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=athletes-in-franchising-2730529" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> NOCAP Sports</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/damiere-byrd/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=athletes-in-franchising-2730529" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Damiere Byrd</a>, former NFL player and current<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/damiere-byrd/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=athletes-in-franchising-2730529" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Bumble Roofing</a> franchise owner.&nbsp;Why Athletes Need FranchisingThe average NFL career lasts just 3.3 years. The median player salary? About $860,000 per year. Over a career, that’s roughly $2.8 million earned. The good news: that’s more than the average retiree’s net worth of $1.8 million. The bad news: after taxes, agent fees, and lifestyle costs, that $2.8 million can shrink to closer to $1 million.That’s why franchising can be such a powerful post-career path — it offers structure, community, and the opportunity to build long-term wealth.A Few Thoughts<ul><li>For Athletes: Choose a franchise in your college town or hometown. That’s where your fan base—and customer base—already exists. But remember, being a franchisee is just like being an athlete: you still have to put in the reps, race to breakeven, and build toward scale. &nbsp;</li><li>For Franchisors: Don’t get blinded by the spotlight. Treat athlete candidates like any other franchise prospect. If you skip proper qualification, you set both sides up for failure. &nbsp;</li><li>For College Athletes: With NIL opportunities growing, franchising could be a smart way to invest your earnings into a scalable business. Only 2% of NCAA athletes go pro. That means your best play might be using your platform to learn, invest, and build a career beyond sports.</li></ul>These ideas and more were discussed on the session — including how Byrd chose to become a franchisee, what Martinelli is seeing from athletes entering business ownership, and how to find and attract athlete buyers who could be the perfect fit for your system.

Coffee & analytics image with photo of Nick Powills

Athletes in Franchising: A Guide for Players & Franchisors

1851 Franchise

https://www.youtube.com/embed/_jLnVb00jSw

Athletes bring PR power and a great story to a franchise. Learning how to find and appeal to them, beyond the opportunity to turn high earnings into long-term wealth, is the trick for franchisors.

Athletes And Franchising: Why the Connection Runs Deep

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Scaling the Soon-to-Be Famous: How Layne’s Chicken Fingers Leveraged a Mainland Franchise Assessment to Fuel a 110% Growth Surge

How Mainland Sees AI Changing Franchise PR and Marketing

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Franchise buyers have more tools than ever to research brands, and artificial intelligence (AI) is&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/goodspark/why-franchise-brands-need-to-rethink-distribution-in-the-ai-era-2732127#featured">quickly becoming one of them</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://hellomainland.com/">Mainland</a> is already thinking about how that shift could change marketing and public relations moving forward.“You watch the news or listen to the voices of this world, there is some fear over what the future of our job force will be in a world of AI,” said Mainland co-founder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/powills/">Nick Powills</a>. “Rightfully so. Anytime a new technology pops into production, it can raise some concerns for people who don't know how to use it and how to leverage it.”As a franchise PR agency,&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/mainland/info">Mainland</a> works at the intersection of storytelling, media and brand visibility. That means understanding not only where media is today, but where it is headed next.“We have to be looking at what is going to evolve and change in that category and in delivery,” Powills said. “One, to make sure we're staying ahead of the curve as a business and, second, to make sure we're staying ahead of the curve for our clients.”<h2>Media Has Changed and PR Is Changing With It</h2>Social media is one of the clearest examples of how fast media can change. In the past, brands relied on newspapers, television and radio to reach audiences. Today, anyone with a phone and a platform can become part of the media conversation.“All of a sudden, we, the people, became the media,” Powills said. “And it's fascinating because it's impacted elections. It reports on breaking news faster than anything else.”&nbsp;That change has directly impacted PR. Traditional media placements still matter, but they are no longer the only path to getting seen. Podcasts, creators, influencers and digital-first storytelling have all become part of the mix. PR has to be built across multiple channels where both people and AI are getting their information.&nbsp;“In the past, it was PR, meaning ‘Let's go get in biz journals and daily newspapers and radio and TV,’” Powills said. “Then comes podcasts, then comes bloggers. And so now the availability of the message continues to heat up.”<h2>AI Is Becoming Part of Franchise Buyer Due Diligence</h2>One of the biggest shifts Mainland is watching is how&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/goodspark/ai-franchise-sales-2732234#featured">AI is changing the research process</a> for franchise buyers. Prospective franchisees can now use tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude or Google’s Gemini to ask detailed questions about a franchise before ever submitting an inquiry form.“I can go on to ChatGPT or Claude or Gemini or whatever system I use and I can say, ‘Should I buy this franchise? What are the pros and cons of buying this franchise? Who are their top franchisees?’” Powills said. “What AI is doing is acting as my Wikipedia before buying a business.”&nbsp;As AI becomes part of the research process, brands need to think about how their stories are being found, summarized and presented before a buyer ever reaches out. That means thinking carefully about where their story appears and how AI tools may interpret it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>The Future of PR Is Bigger Than Media Relations</h2>AI does not signal the end of PR. But it does change the job. Rather than focusing only on pitching journalists, PR professionals will increasingly need to think strategically about how stories are structured, distributed and understood by both humans and machines.“PR is going to change drastically,” Powills said. “We’re not going to be in the business of pitching just the media any longer because the media is going to continue to change. It’s going to be in the business of building influence around a product or a business.”Powills believes that this will raise the bar for communications professionals. PR professionals will need to raise their level of professionalism and deepen their knowledge base. “They’re going to have to have a strategic conversation,” he said. “They’re not just going to be doers.”<h2>Building Brand Stories for the AI Era</h2>At Mainland, the focus is on helping brands make their stories visible wherever people search for information, whether that is through traditional media, podcasts, search engines or AI assistants.“We have to make sure it’s machine-ready, it’s machine learning, it’s telling the good, the bad and the ugly and we’re transparent,” Powills said. “I think transparency is going to lift up even more as this gets stronger.”Now, franchise brands have to think strategically beyond earned media impressions and ask a new set of questions: How is the brand being talked about online? What information is AI pulling into answers? And what story is a prospective franchise buyer hearing before they ever speak to the development team?“When you’re looking at how to hire a PR agency, you’re actually finding one that is thinking about how do we integrate your story, not just in the Wall Street Journal, but in ChatGPT,” Powills said. “And it carries equal, if not greater, weight for what you can do for your brand.”AI is reshaping how franchise stories are found and shared, and the agencies that adapt early will be the ones helping brands stay visible in this new era.&nbsp; To learn more about working with Mainland, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://hellomainland.com/">https://hellomainland.com/</a>.&nbsp;

New developments in AI are entering franchise marketing, franchise public relations, PR strategy, and franchise marketing trends.

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Franchise candidates rarely make decisions overnight. In fact, most spend months researching, validating and looking for proof points before taking the leap. For&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennychaney">Jen Chaney</a> and the team at&nbsp;<a href="https://rightathomefranchise.com/">Right at Home</a>, one of those proof points came in the form of a regional media placement secured by&nbsp;<a href="https://hellomainland.com/">Mainland</a>.<a href="https://www.gazettextra.com/news/local/right-at-home-in-home-care-company-eyes-janesville-market/article_baad327d-db3b-49b0-bb59-77f09051d024.html">A feature in The Gazette (GazetteXtra)</a> spotlighted the brand’s expansion into the Janesville, Wisconsin market and highlighted the human stories behind the opportunity.According to Chaney, the coverage became a pivotal touchpoint for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-villa/">Katie Villa</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryjovilla/">Mary Jo Villa</a>, a mother-daughter duo in Janesville, Wisconsin who had been exploring <a href="https://1851franchise.com/rightathome/right-at-home-mother-daughter-franchisee-janesville-2732128#stories">their next chapter</a>. Katie spent years on the frontlines of healthcare, beginning as a caregiver in college and later working as a nurse, an experience deepened by personally caring for her grandfather during hospice. Meanwhile, her mother Mary Jo brought a background in human resources and operations, having held a variety of roles across newspapers and radio stations.After reading the article, they saw themselves reflected in the opportunity and ultimately decided to move forward with a&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/rightathome/info">Right at Home</a> franchise.<h2>The Power of Seeing Yourself in the Story</h2>The GazetteXtra feature focused on more than just a business opening. It told a story about people and community impact.“When Katie saw this article and sent it to me, my first piece of pride was, ‘Yes, she's still reading the newspaper.’ But I told her we should absolutely explore it,” Mary Jo said. “I have been so impressed with Right at Home. They were clearly selecting us, and we were selecting them.”That approach is a prime example of what Mainland’s Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliemaw1">Julie Maw</a> says is a defining PR trend for 2026:&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/mainland/top-pr-earned-media-trends-2026-2731198#stories">franchisee-led storytelling</a>. “The most powerful PR asset in franchising is the franchisee, not the brand,” Maw said.For prospective owners who may be transitioning careers, these stories act as important validation. The mother-daughter duo saw a version of their own future reflected in the coverage.&nbsp; “Katie's only 30 years old, and so yes, she has me, but you need someone other than your mom validating what your mom says,” Mary Jo said. “So I’ve been extremely impressed with the expertise coming out of Right at Home corporate&nbsp;and how they bring new owners on.”<h2>Regional PR as the Conversion Catalyst</h2>Mainland knows that&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/local-vs-national-franchise-marketing-2726180">regional and local coverage</a> can play a different role than national press, especially when candidates are already weighing the benefits of a specific market.“While national credibility gets attention, local relevance drives the action,” Maw said.The GazetteXtra article served as a localized proof point. It demonstrated demand in a specific market, highlighted community need and showed how the brand operates on the ground. For candidates already in the consideration phase, that kind of visibility can accelerate decision-making. In this instance, it became the tipping point.<h2>Activating the “Buzz Factory”</h2>Mainland’s strategy centers on what Maw calls activating the&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/buzz-factory-process-mainland-franchise-growth-2731901">“buzz factory,”</a> making sure brands are consistently visible across national and local channels throughout the research cycle.&nbsp;That GazetteXtra feature, for example, was just one piece of a larger PR puzzle designed to keep Right at Home top-of-mind while candidates weighed their options across multiple touchpoints.“PR is a marathon,” Maw said. “It’s not just a flash-in-the-pan moment.”<h2>More Than a Placement&nbsp;</h2>For Mainland, this outcome reflects a larger philosophy that PR is not just about media coverage. It’s about building a strategic narrative that&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/mainland/how-mainland-and-1851-franchise-impact-your-brand-story-supports-the-sales-funnel-2717348">supports franchise growth at every stage of the funnel</a>.Sometimes, all it takes is the right story, in the right publication, at the right moment.Growing and selling franchises is difficult. Want to learn more about how Mainland helps franchisors grow their franchises with confidence? Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://hellomainland.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&amp;%3Butm_medium=article&amp;%3Butm_campaign=mainland-secures-nearly-10-million-in-media-value-for-franchise-clients-in-early-2025-2728648&amp;utm_source=1851franchise.com&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=top-pr-earned-media-trends-2026-2731198">https://hellomainland.com/</a> and see what we can do for you.

image of right at home pr feature acquired by hello mainland

When a mother-daughter duo came across local coverage about Right at Home’s Wisconsin expansion, the story helped push them toward franchise ownership.

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The Buzz Factory Blueprint: How Mainland Amplifies Brand Narratives By Leaving Traditional Blanket Marketing Behind

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image of 1851 franchise nick powills coffee and analytics webinar on multi unit conferences 

The Secret to Selling Franchises: You Spent Thousands at Multi-Unit. Now What?

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Athletes And Franchising: Why the Connection Runs Deep

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