School of the Legends
School of the Legends, LLC (School of the Legends, SOTL or SOTLNFL) was founded in August 2009 as a private online community for current and former NFL athletes. The company is based in Nashville, Tennessee. SOTL is the Official Social Network and Training Partner of NFL Players, the marketing arm of the National Football League Players Association.
History
In January 2010, SOTL presented a plan of partnership to the NFLPA in Washington, DC and in June 2010, SOTL became an officially licensed partner. SOTL has filmed training classes with current and former NFL players, as well as organized live interviews with players.[1] As part of their football training system, "Legends in Training," the organization administers courses taught by NFL players such as Michael Vick, Jerome Bettis, and Larry Fitzgerald.
In September 2010 SOTL partnered with the NFLPA, Teamsters, and Feed the Children in New Orleans to assist 800 families effected by the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.[2] SOTL is also an official partner of American Youth Football and Manning Passing Academy.[3]
An updated version of SchooloftheLegends.com (now inactive) launched in September 2011 along with mobile and iPad applications.[4]
December 2011, SOTL shot TV ad campaigns which featured Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, Ray Lewis, Jerome Bettis, Chris Johnson and Cortland Finnegan.
School of the Legends is now a defunct organization.
Members
The SOTL roster consists of thousands of participating players, also referred to as “Legends” within the organization. This number has grown from 500 registered NFL players in 2009 to 2,800 players today. Some of the professional athletes associated with SOTL are listed below:
- Michael Vick[5]
- Jerome Bettis[6]
- DeMaurice Smith: Executive Director of the NFLPA[7]
- Ray Rice[8]
- Tony Gonzalez
- Larry Fitzgerald
- DeAngelo Williams[9]
- Cortland Finnegan
- Jason Carthen
- Deion Sanders
- Ray Lewis
- Chris Johnson
- Barry Sanders
- Marcell Dareus
- A.J. Green
References
- ↑ "Veteran Running Backs Offer Rookies Advice in Exclusive School of the Legends Interview". Business Wire. 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
- ↑ NFL Players Association. "NFLPA, Teamsters, SOTL, Feed the Children Partner in NOLA". NFLPA website. NFL Players. Photos courtesy of AP Photos, Getty Images and NFL Photos. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ↑ "School of the Legends Dubbed the 'Official Online Player Training Partner of American Youth Football'". American Youth Football & Cheer. American Youth Football, Inc. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ↑ "Best NFL Apps for iPad". iPad News Updates. iPadNewsUpdates.com and Elm City Web, LLC. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ↑ Halter, Jimmy. "Michael Vick to Offer Online Quarterback Lessons.". Eagles 101: Archives. Sports Media 101 A Division of Omnipossible LLC. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ↑ D1 Sports Staff. "Jerome Bettis Stops by D1.". D1 Sports Training. 2011 D1 Sports Holdings, LLC | D1 is a registered trademark of D1 Sports Holdings, LLC.
- ↑ ESPN.com. "DeMaurice Smith hopeful for CBA deal". ESPN NFL. ESPN and The Associated Press. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ↑ Raffel, Bruce. "Raven's Rice Among Veterans Offering Advice to Rookies.". Baltimore Beatdown. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ↑ Khalil Garriott (2010-08-08). "DeAngelo Williams on Giving Back, Being a Role Model". NFL Players Association: Q And A. Retrieved 2011-12-06.