Just Winning: Former FSU linebacker Joe Hernandez finds success representing athletes

When he was finishing up his criminology degree at Florida State as a walk-on linebacker, Joe Hernandez thought he might one day be a college football coach.

He even spent some time after his playing days as a student assistant coach with the Seminoles, helping out linebackers coach Bill Miller on Jimbo Fisher’s staff while pursuing a master’s degree in sports management.

The coaching dream eventually faded, but Hernandez’ love of football and competition — and his passion for helping young people — never diminished. And now, he is getting to fulfill all of those goals while serving as CEO of Just Win Management Group, a marketing agency that represents Florida State football players and other athletes in NIL and business ventures.

Among his clients are FSU quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson, and former Seminole great Jameis Winston.

“There’s a lot of similarities to the coaching side,” Hernandez said. “You’re a trusted adviser to the players, and you still have that camaraderie in a sense. You build relationships, and you help make their dreams become a reality.”

Instead of helping players develop their on-field skills, Hernandez is working with them to build their brands and bank accounts.

The Miami Beach native, who was a teammate of Winston’s on the 2013 national championship team and stayed on the roster through the 2015 season, originally started his career as an NFLPA-certified contract adviser. He then pivoted to working with professional athletes on marketing and endorsement deals.

Once the state of Florida and the NCAA cleared the way for college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness in July 2021, Hernandez began to focus on the NIL space. He teamed up with Travis a few months later, and he now represents eight athletes.

In recent months, Just Win Management’s clients have signed NIL deals with companies such as Tallahassee Ford, Hotel Indigo Tallahassee, Glory Days Grill, Topps, The Battle’s End, NextGen Camps, 500 Level apparel, and more.

Other companies have reached out to propose opportunities for his clients, but Hernandez said he encourages the players to be selective and not rush into every available relationship.

Sometimes, he said, the business is asking too big of a commitment in terms of time and effort, and sometimes it’s not a good fit for the player’s image.

“I work for the players,” Hernandez said. “So my job is to present the opportunity to the player and give my opinion on it. Ultimately, it’s up to the player to decide whether they’re going to enter into a deal or refuse a deal. And my job is to facilitate what they want.

“At the end of the day, the players’ best interest needs to be at the center of all these deals. A lot of times, a deal that makes a headline isn’t necessarily going to be the best deal for a player.”

As is common with any new industry, college athletes — and their advisers — have spent the first two years of the NIL era trying to figure out which opportunities are fruitful and which ones are not. Much of that has been done through trial and error.

In the early days of NIL, for example, players in all sports rushed to create T-shirts and other lines of clothing featuring their names, jersey numbers and images. Some saw decent sales, while many generated little interest.

What Hernandez has found is the importance of tying the merchandise to a significant event or story line, such as “4th and 14” shirts after Travis’ big throw against the University of Miami in 2021, or “Benson’s Trucking Service” shirts to celebrate the FSU tailback’s physical running style.

“There should be something that connects with the fan base,” Hernandez said. “But merch is awesome. When you see fans wearing it, that’s the ultimate compliment. And the players love it.”

Just Win’s current roster of clients includes Travis, Benson, Winston, FSU offensive tackle Julian Armella, wide receiver Ja’Khi Douglas, former Seminoles Jacques Patrick (Denver Broncos) and Matthew Thomas (CFL’s Edmonton Elks), and Detroit Lions rookie Starling Thomas.

Along with helping players connect with potential advertisers, Hernandez takes an active role in negotiations. And whether an athlete works with him or not, he encourages them all to find an advocate to help with what can be a daunting process.

One major concern, Hernandez said, is when players receive offers for what seems like a considerable amount of money, but might call for major demands on their time and effort.

“Some college athletes don’t know their worth, and I think they should look for good representation to help them navigate that,” the former FSU linebacker said. “Knowing what’s a good deal for them is a tricky part for a lot of athletes.

“You can’t just do deals to do deals. They have to make sense.”

Also, Hernandez emphasizes the importance of educating players on life skills such as consulting with experts to file the necessary paperwork to create a business entity, managing bank accounts, learning how to interact professionally with clients, and understanding tax implications.

“It’s just awesome to see these guys grow on and off the field,” he said.

Hernandez also offers the players advice about fulfilling their obligations and understanding how to handle business relationships.

“You’re entering into a contract,” he said. “It’s no different than if a pro athlete signs with a shoe company and then wants to leave for a competitor a couple months later. There’s going to be some consequences, whether you like it or not. So players have to be educated and understand their deals.”

Having worked now with over 20 athletes on promotional deals, Hernandez is focused on growing his business and perhaps branching out into other areas. Along with previously earning his master’s degree at FSU, he has spent the past few years in law school at St. Thomas University and graduated earlier this month.

When asked about the future, Hernandez said he is thinking about expanding into representation of coaches, and he has some other ideas simmering as well. In the meantime, he is focused on working with the clients on his roster — whether that be serving the highest-profile player on the team in Travis, or players who are still emerging like Armella and Douglas.

“You want to work with guys who have realistic expectations,” Hernandez said. “So one of the big things we do is work on the educational side. I’ll be the first one to tell a guy, ‘I don’t think it’s the best use of your time right now to be focusing on NIL.’ A lot of kids have unrealistic expectations, and that leads to disappointment. It leads to them focusing on the wrong things.

“Chances are, if a guy’s performing really well on the field, they’re gonna be a lot more marketable too. On the other hand, if they’re focused on their merch and they’re not producing on the field, it’s going to be hard to market themselves.”

As seen on TV 👀🔥🍢

Jordan Travis & Trey Benson featured on Tallahassee Ford commercial #LetsWinTogether #NIL #Noles pic.twitter.com/wqpKIThDMG

— Just Win Management Group (@JustWinMGMT) May 16, 2023

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