The ESS Stack
Every Tool Here Has Passed
One Standard.
Would I recommend this in a real conversation with an athlete I'm advising? If the answer is no, it's not on this list.
Some links are affiliate links. That's disclosed on every card. The standard for inclusion never changes based on whether a brand is paying a commission or not. If something earns a spot here, it's because it clears the bar — not because someone reached out.
Performance & Recovery
The gap between good athletes and great ones is often in how they recover, track data, and fuel their body. These are the platforms and products that operate at the elite level.
WHOOP
Continuous recovery and strain monitoring for serious athletes.
Jack's Take
“I've seen the difference it makes when athletes actually know their recovery score before deciding how hard to push. The data doesn't lie — and neither does ignoring it.”
Hyperice
Percussion therapy and compression recovery tools used at every pro level.
Jack's Take
“Recovery is training. Full stop. Hyperice is the standard in every NFL locker room I've been in, and there's a reason for that.”
Momentous
NSF Certified for Sport supplements — tested, clean, compliant.
Jack's Take
“If you're in a tested sport and you're not checking the NSF certification on everything you put in your body, you're gambling with your career. Momentous clears that bar.”
Hudl
The industry standard for film study, highlights, and recruiting profiles.
Jack's Take
“Coaches are watching film on you whether you're managing it or not. A clean, well-organized Hudl profile is table stakes at every level above high school.”
Calm
Sleep and mindfulness tools built for high-performance environments.
Jack's Take
“Pre-competition anxiety and poor sleep are performance killers that never show up on a scouting report. Calm's sports-specific content is the most accessible tool I've found at any price point.”
NIL & Brand Building
Your name is building value whether you're managing it or not. These platforms give athletes and families the tools to take control of the brand before someone else defines it for them.
Opendorse
The largest NIL marketplace in college sports — deal matching and earnings tracking.
Jack's Take
“If you're a college athlete and you haven't set up your Opendorse profile, you're leaving real money on the table. This is where the volume of legitimate NIL opportunity actually lives.”
INFLCR
Athlete brand and content management built specifically for college athletes.
Jack's Take
“Content consistency is what separates athletes who build audiences from athletes who post occasionally and wonder why nothing is growing. INFLCR gives you the infrastructure.”
Athlytic
Data-driven NIL valuations and deal management in one platform.
Jack's Take
“Know your number before a brand tells you what you're worth. Athlytic gives athletes a real valuation grounded in data, not wishful thinking.”
EAOS Workbook
The Brand Gap Assessment and NIL Plan Builder built into Session 06.
Jack's Take
“I built this because nothing else walked athletes through brand strategy from the inside out — who you are, what your audience wants, and how to close that gap with content. It's the foundation before any deal.”
Athlete Finance & Wealth
NIL money is real income. Signing bonuses don't last forever. The athletes who build lasting financial security are the ones who treat money like a system, not a surprise. These resources help build that foundation.
Greenlight
Financial literacy tools and a debit card built for the generation receiving NIL money.
Jack's Take
“Most athletes receiving NIL money have never had a finance class. Greenlight is the fastest way to build the habits that matter before the numbers get bigger.”
Acorns
Automated micro-investing that runs in the background while you focus on sport.
Jack's Take
“This isn't a get-rich strategy — it's a build-the-habit strategy. Every athlete earning NIL income should have something automated running so the money doesn't just disappear.”
BigFuture (College Board)
The most comprehensive free scholarship and financial aid database available.
Jack's Take
“If your family hasn't run a full search here, you're leaving money on the table. Private scholarships, grant opportunities, and aid most families never apply for are sitting in this database.”
IRS Free File
NIL payments are taxable income. Free File is the place to start.
Jack's Take
“I've talked to too many athletes who were blindsided by a tax bill they didn't see coming. NIL income is self-employment income. That means quarterly estimated taxes. Start here before the bill arrives.”
Learning & Development
The athletes who last are the ones who keep developing — on the field and off it. These are the resources built to accelerate that growth, whether it's mental performance, identity, or skills that carry past the sport.
EAOS Workbook
79 pages. Eight sessions. Mindset, resilience, NIL strategy, and personal brand.
Jack's Take
“I wrote this because I couldn't find anything that actually met athletes where they are — not self-help repackaged for sport, but a real operating system built from the inside out. This is the foundation.”
BetterHelp
Accessible therapy from licensed professionals — no waitlist, no commute.
Jack's Take
“The identity pressure on college athletes is unlike anything most people deal with at that age. Accessible, stigma-free therapy isn't a weakness. It's a performance decision.”
Coursera
University-quality courses in business, finance, and leadership from anywhere.
Jack's Take
“The athlete who's investing in skills outside the sport is the one building leverage for what comes next. Coursera gives you access to curriculum from schools you may not be attending — for free or close to it.”
Audible
Every commute, every lift, every flight — a library in your pocket.
Jack's Take
“The difference in perspective you get from reading a book a month compounding over a career is real. If reading isn't the format, Audible removes every excuse.”
Agent Tools & Operations
Running a client roster out of a spreadsheet isn't a practice — it's a liability. These are the tools serious agents use to build a professional operation from day one.
Reppr.io
CRM built specifically for sports agents — not a generic tool retrofitted for sport.
Jack's Take
“I built Reppr.io because the tools available to agents were all either too generic or too expensive. Client management, contract tracking, compliance calendar, secure document storage — in one place, built for how agents actually work.”
The Young Agent Course
The curriculum no one hands you when you get NFLPA certified.
Jack's Take
“Certification tells you the rules. It doesn't teach you how to find clients, earn a family's trust, or avoid the mistakes that end careers early. That's what this cohort is built for.”
DocuSign
The standard for signed agreements — legally binding, fast, with a full audit trail.
Jack's Take
“If you're still chasing wet signatures, you're losing time and credibility. DocuSign is the baseline for running a professional operation.”
Calendly
Clean scheduling with intake questions that pre-qualify families before the call.
Jack's Take
“Stop playing email tag for every consultation. A professional scheduling link signals that you're organized before a family has even spoken with you.”
NFLPA Agent Registry
Verify certification and disciplinary history before any conversation goes further.
Jack's Take
“Any agent claiming NFLPA certification can be verified in under two minutes. If they're not on the registry, the conversation is over — for families and for other agents evaluating potential partners.”
AI & Content Creation
NIL turned every college athlete into a content creator overnight. Most don't have the time or the tools to do it well. These platforms change that — without taking hours away from training.
Poppy AI
AI-powered content and brand management built specifically for athletes.
Jack's Take
“This is the one tool in this category built for athletes, not adapted for them. Content scheduling, NIL tracking, brand management — designed around how an athlete's day actually works, not how a generic social media manager's does.”
Claude
AI assistant for writing, planning, and professional communication at scale.
Jack's Take
“A college athlete getting 10 NIL inquiries a week can't respond to all of them professionally without help. Claude drafts the email, the pitch, the proposal — you edit and send. The brand sees a polished response. That gap closes fast.”
Opus Clip
Automatically cuts long-form video into short-form clips ready for every platform.
Jack's Take
“Post-game interview, workout footage, a talk you gave — Opus Clip turns any of it into Reels, TikToks, and Shorts in minutes. Athletes are sitting on content they're not using because the editing step stops them. This removes that step.”
CapCut
The actual standard for short-form video editing — free, fast, built for social.
Jack's Take
“Walk through any college locker room and ask what athletes use to edit. It's CapCut. Free, intuitive, and the templates are built for the exact formats that perform on social. The tool is already there — you just have to use it consistently.”
Canva
Visual brand consistency across every platform — graphics, templates, brand kits.
Jack's Take
“Sponsors evaluate your brand before they evaluate your stats. An athlete with consistent visual identity looks more serious than one who posts whatever their phone generates. Canva makes that consistency achievable in minutes, not hours.”
Notion
Content calendar, NIL deal tracker, and business hub — all in one place.
Jack's Take
“The athlete who treats their NIL like a business keeps track of deadlines, deliverables, brand requirements, and content schedules. Notion is the cleanest free tool for building that system without overcomplicating it.”
Something Missing From the Stack?
The stack grows as the relationships get built and new tools earn their spot. If you're using something that should be here — or you represent a product that wants to be considered — reach out.
Affiliate Disclosure
Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning Elite Sports Solutions may earn a commission if you purchase through them — at no additional cost to you. Affiliate relationships do not influence which products are included on this page or how they are described. Every recommendation reflects independent evaluation by Jack Tabb III based on his experience as a D1 athlete, NFL undrafted free agent, college coach, NFLPA-certified agent, and venture investor. Products marked “Jack's Product” are built and owned by Jack Tabb III or Elite Sports Solutions. All other products are third-party and inclusion does not constitute a formal endorsement beyond the personal opinion expressed.