Today's NIL spotlight goes to The Collective Engine, CEO Tony Willey,
born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Houston as a child.
He attended Seyfer High School just outside Houston.
Willey graduated from Texas Southern University with a degree and later earned his MBA from
Rice University. While attending Texas Southern University, Willey became a game day intern
for the Houston Oilers in 1991. Willey's job included public relations tasks,
including interacting with the sports journalists in the Houston Oilers Press Box.
In 1992, he became a public relations intern with the San Diego Chargers. In 1993, he then
became a public relations intern for the Dallas Cowboys, where he received a Super Bowl ring
after the Cowboys victory in Super Bowl XXVIII. In addition to his work with the NFL, Willey was
also an intern for the Houston Astros from 1991 to 1992. 1990 for Willey replaced David Pearson as
the assistant director of public relations for the Los Angeles Rams. He remained with the Rams
when the team moved to St. Louis in 1995, becoming the St. Louis Rams. Willey was the spokesperson
for the Rams during the transition between cities, handling press requests, and providing media
responses regarding the logistics of the move from Los Angeles to St. Louis. In 1998, Willey became
the youngest public relations director in the NFL when he was selected by the Tennessee Oilers as
their PR director. During his tenure with the Texans, he was awarded the Pete Rizel Award three more
times in 2004, 2007 and 2010, making him the only executive in NFL history to be awarded the prize
for his work on three different teams. In May 2010, Willey became a senior vice president with the
Washington Redskins in charge of the communications department. One of the more controversial decisions
Willey advised Redskins owner Daniel Snyder on was Snyder's libel lawsuit against the Washington
City paper. NBC Sports quoted Willey as saying that the move was not done as a part of Willey's
attempts to manage the team's image, but rather in order to demand better accuracy and responsibility
by journalist critical of Snyder. In 2019, Willey left the Washington team on his own accord to
become the regional president and managing director of the Special Olympics North America.
As a seasoned sports executive, Tony Willey have seen it all in more than 27 years in sports
management in a career that spans six different ownership groups in seven different media markets.
The Collective Engine offer NIL, financial literacy, character and leadership development,
brand strategy, social responsibility, also the Collective Engine, Latino division coming soon.