Nassau County marks a day to honor sports insurance advisor Rich Salgado

Rich Salgado is known to be one of the “most trusted men among professional athletes,” and an agent to the stars.

As the chief executive of Coastal Advisors, Salgado is an insurance adviser to more than 500 of the most prominent names in the world of sports, business, media and the entertainment industry. Clients include former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, Fox Sports analyst Reggie Bush, former NBA point guard Jeremy Lin, ESPN senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter, and actress Melissa Joan Hart.

It’s three decades worth of accomplishments and advocacy for the man known as “Big Daddy” — enough for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to officially proclaimed March 7 as Rich “Big Daddy” Salgado Day. Blakeman honored Salgado in Mineola, joined by Strahan, actor Hisham Tawfiq from NBC’s “The Blacklist,” and Schefter.

“It’s always an honor for me to recognize somebody who has contributed so much to Nassau County, Long Island, and quite frankly, the whole region — and perhaps we can say the whole country,” Blakeman said. “He’s always been a very outgoing, friendly, nice person to everybody he meets — whether they’re in a high station in life, or whether they’re somebody that’s struggling to do a little better for themselves and their family.”

Salgado attended New Hyde Park Memorial High School and went on to study at the University of Maryland, where he played college football as a defensive lineman. After graduating, he decided to make a shift from playing football to advising, launching Coastal Advisors in 1996.

Salgado’s role is to set up life insurance policies, help with estate planning, and create other forms of financial protection in the face of adversity.

In addition to running his own insurance company, Salgado is also the chief commercial officer for Gas It Up — a minority-owned mobile fueling company with locations in Texas and on the east coast.

Those attending the recent ceremony talked about Salgado’s generous nature, evident in philanthropic efforts like the Big Daddy Celebrity Golf Classic, an annual charity event Salgado started in 2010.

For this year’s golf charity event, Salgado partnered with the Sher organization — a women-founded group supporting gender equality and equity. Salgado also founded Big Daddy Youth Football Camp, which focuses on private mentoring and speaking engagements for elementary- and middle school-aged campers.

He’s also been known to fly pizzas in for the Super Bowl, said his friend, Anzhelika Steen-Olsen.

“I have come to know him as a man of kindness and benevolence,” said Steen-Olsen, founder of the Sher organization. “A trustworthy friend to many. A funny man who still wears his heart on his sleeve.”

Strahan — who now co-hosts “Good Morning America” on ABC — said he and Salgado became “fast friends” when they first met 28 years ago. At the time, the Texas native had only been living in New York for a couple years, playing for the New York Giants.

Salgado was someone Strahan knew always had his back.

“He is the most gentle, big man I know,” he said. “If I needed to call anybody to do anything at any time, or someone who literally goes out of their way to do things that I’m not even expecting — it’s Rich.”