Brian Davis is leveraging his nearly 20-year law career by negotiating name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for elite student athletes at sports marketing agency PowerUp Sports.
Davis’ five-year-old Newport Beach-based law firm Forward Counsel LLP became involved in the nascent space of student athlete compensation a few years ago after a coworker’s son began fielding calls from agencies who wanted to cut NIL deals with him.
NIL refers to the rights of college and high school athletes to profit from their personal brand. Athletes in more than 30 states including California can get paid for signing autographs, selling merchandise and making public appearances.
Davis helped his coworker’s son research NIL agreements and started thinking about how he and his firm could help other student athletes.
Forward Counsel became one of the first law firms to negotiate newsworthy NIL money deals, including Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s contract with Spyre Sports Group in 2022.
“The firm got a lot of national [attention] because of the deals we were doing,” Davis, whose career previously involved private equity and commercial real estate, told the Business Journal.
As he became more deeply involved in NIL agreements, Davis recognized the need to establish an agency that would empower student athletes and their parents by giving them a voice in the industry.
Short-Lived Plans
Davis decided to launch Newport Beach-based PowerUp Sports in 2023. The agency provides athletes with representation, financial literacy, brand marketing, mentorship and sport-specific training.
The firm, along with its nonprofit arm California Power Athletes, also guides high school and college players through the recruitment process.
“Because there’s money involved now, you had a lot of negative influences that were trying to latch onto these young athletes to try and make a quick buck off them,” Davis said.
With the market value of players on the line, Davis said NIL introduces layers of complexities that high-level head coaches and families have to learn about.
“It’s probably the most complicated space I’ve ever been in,” he said.
PowerUp now represents almost 200 nationally ranked elite high school and college football players, many of them the top-ranked athletes in their home states.
Davis, chief executive of PowerUp, said he is investing in these young athlete’s lives before anyone else will, both on and off the field.
“What’s most important is protecting the futures of these young men and women that have opportunities because of NIL that they didn’t have before,” Davis said.
One key lesson he imparts to student athletes is that the world of sports is short-lived. The business side is always secondary.
“It’s your Plan B,” he said. “You use [it] as a launchpad to open up more opportunities for Plan A’s.”
“We’re looking to change the industry of sports agencies at large and how they treat athletes,” he said.
$2M for Sports Nonprofits
Davis said PowerUp’s revenue from athlete representation helps fund its nonprofit organization California Power Athletes, which helps train elite athletes and assists them with the college recruiting process. The firm has also raised more than $2 million in seed funding for the organization.
Davis turned to well-regarded quarterback coach Ryan Porter to run the nonprofit arm of the business as general manager and head coach. Porter played football professionally for nine years.
Porter is best known for coaching Jayden Daniels, the former star quarterback at Louisiana State University and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner was recently named starting quarterback for the Washington Commanders.
The coach credits Daniels as the reason for launching his quarterback training career. Porter said he was introduced to a new world of sports training when Daniels was moving between 7-on-7 non-contact football organizations. He added that what he saw left a sour taste in his mouth.
“I was watching parents break their backs just for their kids to be relevant and paying crazy amounts to do this,” he said.
Almost four years ago, when he moved to Orange County, which he calls “the mecca of the draft prep space,” Porter began thinking about starting his own national club team. But a call from Davis caused him to pivot.
After discussing the need for teen athlete mentoring, the two founded California Power Athletes, or CA Power, in late 2022. The mentoring and training program encourages student athletes to make football decisions instead of monetary decisions.
The free program is available to players of all ages with college as the priority, Porter said.
In the organization’s first year, 46 of their 48 high school seniors ended up signing national letters of intent at NCAA Division I programs, Porter said. It has doubled since.
For Davis, shifting to a second career focused on providing legal protection for teen athletes has been rewarding.
“We were thrust into the NIL space,” he said. “It’s a life calling now.”
Looking for Rising Stars
There are a few key Orange County high school players that Ryan Porter and Brian Davis are keeping an eye on.
One rising star they’re watching is quarterback Luke Fahey, a junior at Mission Viejo High School. Last December, he helped the Diablos win the CIF State Division 1-AA championship.
Fahey, set to graduate in 2026, is a top-ranked quarterback in the country.
Fahey recently tapped PowerUp Sports to represent him. The sports agency did not disclose its fees.
Porter, however, points to results. Within one year in the program, Fahey has racked up more than 15 college offers.
“Luke Fahey is elite,” Davis said. “We have a high degree of confidence that he’s going to be one of the top college quarterbacks and hopefully make it to the NFL.”
Fahey told the Business Journal that Davis and Porter have been instrumental in guiding him through the recruitment process by helping him connect with coaches and arranging travel so he can showcase his skills.
Interest went from “zero” to “blowing up” after a year, Fahey explained.
“It’s been a blessing to have those people in my corner,” Fahey said.
Porter and Davis also are keeping tabs on Fahey’s Mission Viejo teammate, wide receiver Vance Spafford, and Mater Dei tight end Mark Bowman. Caden Jones, a sophomore from Crean Lutheran High School, has about 31 college offers, Porter said.
“I think the state of California produces the best quarterbacks,” Porter said.
OC has Powerhouse Team of Sports Agents
Several sports agencies with headquarters in Orange County represent some of the country’s most famous athletes.
• Lee Steinberg is the current chairman of Newport Beach-based Steinberg Sports & Entertainment and has secured over $4 billion for his 300-plus pro athlete clients, according to LinkedIn. Steinberg, who is often credited as the real-life inspiration for the 1996 film “Jerry Maguire,” has represented eight No. 1 NFL draft picks and 12 Pro Football Hall of Fame members throughout his 50-year career.
Most recently, Steinberg helped quarterback Patrick Mahomes sign a 10-year contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs that was reported to be worth $503 million back in 2020.
• Athletes First, a Laguna Hills-based football agency, is home to two notable agents who established the firm after stepping away from the former Steinberg, Moorad & Dunn in 2001. Chief Executive and co-founder Brian Murphy counts around 90 clients, according to Forbes, which includes the Minnesota Vikings’ Harrison Smith and New Orleans Saints’ Ryan Ramczyk.
David Dunn, who represents New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, had worked at his former agency since 1990 until he departed to help start Athletes First. Dunn brought on LA Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert back in 2020.
• Scott Boras, based in Newport Beach, is the founder and chief executive of Boras Corp. and is considered baseball’s most influential agent. At 71, he counts 106 clients, reported by Forbes. He is currently working with Yankees’ Juan Soto, outfielder Cody Bellinger, pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell and third baseman Matt Chapman.
• Ryan Tollner currently co-heads Excel Football after his firm Rep 1 Sports, founded in Irvine in 2006, was acquired by Excel Sports Management in 2023. He represented Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for 18 years and currently represents Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Carson Wentz and Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota.
• Greg Genske oversees all athlete representation as co-CEO at VaynerSports in Costa Mesa, following the 2020 merger of his firm GEM Agency and VaynerSports. He was previously the executive director and president of baseball for Newport Beach’s former The Legacy Agency, the result of another merger between Legacy Sports Group – a later iteration of Moorad Sports Management – and another athlete marketing firm. Genske’s key clients have been Seattle Mariners’ current first baseman Justin Turner and former Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, according to Forbes. The agent has been certified since 2004 and recently helped third baseman Charlie Condon, and third pick in the 2024 MLB draft, land with the Colorado Rockies with the largest draft bonus in MLB history worth $9.25 million.
