For immediate release
Family-owned Harrisburg firm launches practice serving NIL athletes, professional athletes, and youth sports families across Central Pennsylvania; publishes seven-part public resource library
HARRISBURG, Pa., September 8, 2026 - PAC Financial, a family-owned financial advisory firm serving Central Pennsylvania since 1972, today announced the launch of a dedicated NIL and athlete financial planning practice, led by Private Wealth Advisor Tucker P. Nicholas. The practice serves athlete families across the full arc of the athletic money lifecycle: youth and travel-sports households, high school and college athletes earning name, image, and likeness compensation, and working professional athletes, coaches, and officials throughout the 717 region.
The launch arrives at an inflection point for athlete compensation. Under the House settlement approved in June 2025, participating schools may now share revenue directly with athletes, while third-party NIL deals over $600 are reviewed through the NIL Go clearinghouse. In Pennsylvania, the PIAA has permitted high school athletes to earn NIL compensation since December 2022. Real money now reaches Central Pennsylvania athletes earlier than at any point in the history of American sports, and much of it arrives without a financial plan attached.
"Our office has lived on both sides of this," said Stephen Marrazzo, President of PAC Financial. "I played at Bishop McDevitt and coached youth football at Holy Name Jets, and over the years I have watched talented student athletes and devoted families navigate the new money era in real time. This region did not need another firm talking about athletes. It needed one that was built by people who have stood on its sidelines and in the coaching room. That is who we are, and that is why this new practice exists."
The practice is organized around three frameworks the firm has developed for athlete households. The designated no assigns money requests aimed at the athlete to the firm, with gift windows defined in advance and financial decisions paused during the competitive season. The oxygen-mask rule guides sports parents to fund athletic dreams from cash flow rather than retirement savings. The CRD Test teaches families to verify anyone offering financial services through FINRA's free BrokerCheck database before any money moves, and the firm has committed to running those verification checks for any Central Pennsylvania athlete family at no cost, regardless of any client relationship.
"Before we built this, I went looking for a dedicated NIL financial planning practice in Central Pennsylvania, and I could not find one," said Nicholas, who fielded record label offers as a college student when his music went viral, an experience he credits with shaping the practice's nothing-guaranteed planning philosophy. "The athletic career is measured in seasons and the money has to be measured in decades. Our job is to connect those two timelines, and to do it at a kitchen table in Harrisburg rather than a call center three time zones away."
Alongside the launch, the firm has published Football & Finances, a seven-part public resource library covering the athlete money lifecycle, from what youth sports actually cost families through NIL guardrails for parents, planning for the region's professional athletes, and vetting financial professionals. The library and practice details are available at pacfinancialfirst.com/nil-financial-planning.
The firm draws on a bench with unusual athletic depth for an advisory firm. Marrazzo is an award-winning youth football coach with the Holy Name Jets. Operations manager Sonya Essis officiates football at the NFL and NCAA levels and served as the white hat official at the national flag football championship this summer. Nicholas and licensed insurance agent Christian Marrazzo grew up competing on teams right here in Harrisburg.
Initial consultations are available now and are offered at no cost, scheduled around the athlete's competitive season. Athlete families, coaches, and officials can reach the practice at (717) 564-6400.
The new practice formalizes a commitment to Central Pennsylvania sports that the firm has kept since long before athlete compensation made headlines. PAC Financial is a longtime sponsor of High School Sports Live, the Harrisburg-based broadcast partner of PennLive that has carried the region's top football, basketball, and wrestling matchups to local audiences since the 2009-10 season. "We were in the bleachers and on the broadcasts from the start" said Marrazzo. "The planning practice is simply the next way of showing up for the same families as the Name, Image, and Likeness landscape evolves."
About PAC Financial
PAC Financial is a family-owned financial advisory firm founded in 1972 and located at 5291 Devonshire Road, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Now spanning multiple generations of financial and insurance professionals, the firm provides wealth planning, investment management, retirement planning, and insurance services to families and business owners across Central Pennsylvania. Learn more at pacfinancialfirst.com.
Media contact
Tucker P. Nicholas, Private Wealth Advisor
(717) 564-6400, ext. 181
tnicholas@osaicwealth.com
This announcement is for informational purposes only and is not an offer of securities or a guarantee of any outcome. NIL rules continue to evolve; details are current as of September 2026. Securities and advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Insurance services offered through PAC Financial, which is not affiliated with Osaic Wealth, Inc. Check the background of financial professionals for free at brokercheck.finra.org.