Eric Walker

Business Coach & Serial Entrpreneur

The one thing I could tell you about Eric Walker is his persistence and the more time you spend with him over the years trying to coordinate schedules and time resources, his follow up and follow through is impressive.

Seeing black faces on the court and on the gridiron is very common. But seeing those same kind of faces working behind the scenes, making true boss moves is absolutely rare and uncommon. Professional Sports Marketing is big business and it seems to be cornered by others who work tirelessly to keep those seemingly limited opportunities amongst themselves.

Many young dreamers in the inner city see professional sports as a meal ticket out of the despair that is their lives. But the odds of making it big in the game are just not high enough to allow room for everyone dreaming of coming up by playing sports. Eric Walker was one of those dreamers whose life decisions and smart choices put him directly on the path to achieving his dream of working in the game, but not necessarily on the field.

Eric is the CEO of Legends & Legacy in partnership with Luxury Lifestyles LLC, a sports marketing firm headquartered in Detroit, Michigan with clients both nationally and internationally. This vision for his company came in 2014, he spent a couple of years learning from some of the best in the business all while perfecting his plan. By 2018 his company was fully operational.

Eric has always known he wanted to be an Entrepreneur, not just an Athlete. After serving 4 years in the military he went to work for ADT selling security systems door to door. It was this professional sales training that helped him master the skill of negotiating.

Legends & Legacy matches its top tier athletes with agencies, while providing real time statistics and research for companies like industry giant Wasserman. The passion for sports and entrepreneurial drive fuels the growth of his company which he has grown organically, one opportunity at a time. Sports Marketing is more like a marathon than a sprint. It is the kind of business you grow by networking more so than merely education.

Having played football in college. It is easier to relate to the needs and wants of a college athlete, one wearing those shoes. It's this kind of relatability that gives Eric an edge in this brutally competitive space. His approachable demeanor and humble attitude has drawn some of the biggest names in professional sports in his direction. Alssene Saintilus, Jeremy Johnson, Derunnya Wilson, Sam Beal, and Greg Jennings of the Minnesota Vikings are among the top names his relationship foundation has established.

The big picture vision of Legends & Legacy is to give exposure to high school and college Athletes who want to transition into professional sports. The company is big on attracting corporate sponsorships and endorsements like Nike, Sprite, and Pepsi.

Sports Marketing as an industry is small and very limited. Not a lot of opportunity.

I noted a small caveat: the person names ("Alssene Saintilus," "Derunnya Wilson") look potentially unusual, but since I can't verify the correct spelling, I left them as written rather than guessing.