Part two of Football & Finances from PAC Financial in Harrisburg. Football is our office's first language, but this playbook belongs to every sports parent: wrestling, basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, track. In Pennsylvania, one of the strongest high school wrestling states in the country, that is a lot of families. If you missed it, start with NIL Money and the 3.3-Year Career.
Quick answer: The PIAA has allowed Pennsylvania high school athletes to earn NIL money since December 2022, with restrictions. A parent's job comes down to three things: slow every decision down, keep the athlete's name clean, and make the money boring through automatic saving and simple family rules. And when someone needs to hear no, you do not have to be the one who says it.
Nobody hands parents a playbook when their kid's talent starts attracting money. The deal arrives, the phone starts buzzing, and suddenly a family that was worried about playing time is reading contract language at the dinner table. PAC Financial, a family-owned financial advisory firm in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, works with families at exactly this moment, and the playbook is simpler than the noise suggests.
Why would a Harrisburg financial firm understand sports parents?
Because we have stood where you stand, on the same Central Pennsylvania sidelines. Steve Marrazzo, our President, is a Bishop McDevitt football alumnus and an award-winning coach with the Holy Name Jets who has spent years talking with parents at practice, not just players. Sonya Essis, our operations manager, officiates football at the NFL and NCAA levels, so she has seen every kind of sideline this sport produces. Christian Marrazzo and Tucker Nicholas grew up playing ball right here in Harrisburg. When you sit down with us, you are not explaining your world to a stranger. You are talking to people who have run the drills, worn the whistle, and watched the car rides home.
Can high school athletes in Pennsylvania earn NIL money?
Yes. The PIAA voted in December 2022 to allow Pennsylvania high school athletes to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness, with restrictions on things like using school marks. Rules vary and continue to evolve, so before any deal is signed, confirm the current requirements with your athletic director and the PIAA. Central Pennsylvania feels this more than most regions: Mid-Penn Conference programs send athletes to Division I rosters every year, and the college pipeline now starts paying attention, and sometimes paying, earlier than ever.
What should parents do when the first NIL deal shows up?
Nothing, for at least 48 hours. That is the whole first move. No legitimate deal dies because a family took two days to read it. Print the agreement, read every line, and note what the athlete is actually promising: posts, appearances, exclusivity, how long the company can use their image. For anything beyond a small local arrangement, an attorney who has read NIL contracts is worth the fee. Slow is not fear. Slow is the strategy.
And remember whose phone the offers land on. Not yours. Your athlete's. Which means the 48-hour rule only works if your kid believes in it too, so make it a family rule you set together, not a restriction you impose. The recruiting world already wines and dines teenagers like professionals. The least the family playbook can do is match that level of intention.
How do families handle the pitches and the hangers-on?
Success attracts pitches the way porch lights attract moths, and the pitches will come to the athlete, not to you. Give your athlete a shield they can use without conflict: "My family has a rule. Everything financial waits 48 hours and goes through my parents." The people who respect that rule were safe to talk to. The people who push urgency just answered the only question that mattered. Two standing family rules cover most of it: no investing with friends of friends, and nobody who contacts the athlete first gets the athlete's money.
Now picture the harder version, because it is coming: the person asking is not a stranger. It is a cousin, a teammate, a family friend who was in the bleachers for years. This is the part nobody warns parents about. When money enters a family, every relationship around it gets a new question mark, and a teenager should not carry that weight. This is where we earn our keep: if you or your athlete ever need to tell someone no, you direct them to us. Let them aim the frustration at the advisors. We will take it on the chin and protect your family, and your Thanksgiving table stays a Thanksgiving table.
How do you keep money from changing the family?
Have the one conversation most families skip: what is this money for? Say the answer out loud together, whether that is school, a first house someday, or a foundation for life after sports. Then make the money boring. An automatic transfer moves most of each payment somewhere it is not seen daily, the athlete keeps a spending amount that was chosen on purpose, and the set-aside is respected, because NIL income is taxable and a qualified tax professional should be on the roster early. In our practice we go one step further with the calendar: money decisions pause during the season, and the deep-dive reviews happen in the dead center of the offseason. No distractions during the season is a core tenet of how we work with athletes. The money belongs to the athlete. The guardrails belong to the parents. Keeping those two sentences straight protects both the balance and the relationship.
When does a family need professional help?
Not at a few hundred dollars; a budget and a savings habit handle that, and we will say so to your face. When the numbers reach four and five figures, when a collective or revenue-share payment arrives, or when the pitches start stacking up, a first conversation makes sense. Ours costs nothing and nobody signs anything. You will leave with a clear picture of what to do next, whether or not you do it with us.
The next step
Bring the deal paperwork if a deal exists, or just bring your questions if it does not yet. One conversation now beats untangling something later. Call PAC Financial at (717) 564-6400. We work with athlete families across Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Carlisle, Hershey, Camp Hill, Middletown, and all of Central Pennsylvania.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. NIL rules continue to evolve; details are current as of September 2026. Consult the PIAA and qualified legal and tax professionals regarding your specific situation. PAC Financial is a financial advisory firm serving Central Pennsylvania. Securities and advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC.