About ROLA

ROLA is a research platform for college and professional athletics. Founded in 2023, ROLA studies how athletes build businesses around their name, image and likeness, and what athletic departments, collectives and professional organizations can do to support them.

We work directly with athletes and the institutions that develop them. Athletes take part in our research and receive practical tools and education in return. Institutions receive findings about their own athletes. What we learn is published in The ROLA Report as aggregate data, so every program can learn from it.

Our research focuses on five themes:

• NIL Infrastructure. What programs need beyond deal volume: the systems that turn NIL activity into lasting athlete businesses.
• Regulation and Compliance. How the College Sports Commission, NIL Go and the House settlement are changing what programs and athletes must get right.
• Athlete Business Development. Entity structure, taxes, contracts and intellectual property for athletes earning NIL income.
• Recruiting and Competitive Edge. Where business infrastructure gives programs an advantage that spending alone does not.
• Foundations and Philanthropy. How athletes can turn camps and clinics into foundations, access grants and build a legacy in their communities.

ROLA publishes only aggregate findings. Every published figure carries its source and sample size, and no figure is published unless at least 10 athletes stand behind it. We never publish information about an individual athlete. Research partnerships are free to participating institutions and athletes.

Leadership

ROLA is led by Michael Apan, Head of Research and Partnerships, who oversees ROLA's research and its partnerships with athletic departments. Sid Peddinti leads ROLA's legal research and its nonprofit and foundation workshops for athletes. Hussain Saka leads community impact and represents the athlete voice at ROLA, connecting the athletes we serve with our executive team.

Recognition

In 2026, ROLA completed the Chase for Business Coaching for Impact program, a national business coaching program from JPMorgan Chase.

Research partners

ROLA's research partners are Philanthropy for Athletes, which provides athlete education on foundations, taxes and legal planning, and nameimagelikeness.org, which publishes interviews and reporting on the NIL landscape. We also work alongside nonprofits that serve athletes, prioritizing those that support the athletes in our programs through ongoing advisory and grant readiness.