Director of Athlete Compensation at Clemson University in Clemson, SC

Job description

JOB SUMMARY: Clemson University Athletics is looking for a Director of Athlete Compensation to fulfill the duties outlined below. - The Director of Athlete Compensation position serves as a key member of the Athletics Central Front Office, providing strategic leadership and analytical support in the development, negotiation, and administration of student-athlete compensation strategies. - This position partners closely with athletics leadership, sport administrators, coaches, and analytics to develop competitive and sustainable compensation models that support roster management, student-athlete retention, and long-term program success. - The position is responsible for evaluating market trends, compensation data, and roster dynamics to inform negotiation strategies and institutional decision-making. - Through financial analysis, market intelligence, and collaborative planning, this position contributes to Clemson Athletics' ability to recruit, retain, and support elite student-athletes while aligning with institutional priorities, NCAA regulations, and evolving collegiate athletics legislation. - This position serves as the institution's subject matter expert in athlete negotiations and cap management, integrating player evaluation, market intelligence, compensation strategy, negotiation planning, financial analysis, and relationship management to support informed decision-making and maximize the institution's investment in student-athletes. - Other duties as assigned. JOB DUTIES: 20% - Athlete Negotiation Strategy and Contracts: Serve as a strategic resource during athlete recruitment, retention, transfer portal, and renewal discussions. Support sport programs throughout the negotiation process with athletes and their representatives. Evaluate requests, competing offers, and market positioning to inform negotiation approaches. Develop comprehensive negotiation strategies for athlete recruitment, retention, transfer portal, and renewal discussions by identifying institutional objectives, market conditions, leverage points, timing considerations, concession strategies, walk-away positions, and long-term relationship implications. Prepare negotiation plans and briefing materials, including market analyses, comparable compensation data, valuation models, negotiation scenarios, and decision-support tools to assist coaches, administrators, and front office leadership. Develop negotiation analytics, success metrics, concession tracking, market comparisons, and outcome analyses to continuously improve negotiation effectiveness and institutional decision-making. Assist with drafting, documenting, administering, and tracking negotiated agreements while maintaining complete records of negotiation history, compensation commitments, amendments, renewals, and future obligations.

20% - Athlete Compensation Structure & Development: Assist in the development and structuring of athlete compensation offers ensuring alignment with roster priorities. Analyze compensation proposals and assess financial implications, risk factors, and long-term commitments. Support forecasting and planning for revenue-sharing distributions, roster allocations, and athlete retention initiatives.

20% - Roster Strategy Operations: Assist in coordinating roster planning processes in collaboration with coaches and sport administrators. Assist in analyzing roster composition, positional depth, retention rates, and recruiting priorities. Assist in forecasting roster turnover, transfer portal activity, recruiting class integration, and future compensation obligations.

20% - Above-the-Cap NIL Integration & Strategy: Develop strategies that integrate institutional compensation structures with external NIL opportunities. Evaluate the impact of third-party NIL opportunities on athlete recruitment, retention, and overall compensation packages. Assist athletics leadership in developing comprehensive athlete compensation strategies that combine revenue-