Following a wave of wealthy Bay Area parents charged with using the services of a college admissions cheater to get their children into prestigious colleges, San Francisco 49ers Hall of Famer Joe Montana issued a statement late Thursday saying his family received consulting assistance from William Rick Singer’s company — but that was it.

“Mr. Singer’s company provided nothing more than minimal consulting services to our family, like so many other families, with the college application process,” Montana said in a tweet from his rarely used social media account. “Fortunately, our kids were able to pick from a number of schools to attend due to their hard work and their merit.”

Mr. Singer's company provided nothing more than minimal consulting services to our family, like so many other families, with the college application process. Fortunately our kids were able to pick from a number of schools to attend due to their hard work and their merit.

Thanks — Joseph Montana (@JoeMontana) March 15, 2019

Montana’s name became linked to Singer after a 2014 Facebook post from one of Singer’s companies trumpeted his work with the former quarterback, among other high-profile clients. Singer said he shared “secrets” with Montana and other clients seeking help with college admissions.

Montana has not been charged by federal prosecutors, and officials have said many clients paid Singer’s companies for legitimate advice and assistance but never used the “side door” fraud scam.

On Tuesday, Singer, who ran the Edge College and Career Network and a nonprofit organization called Key Worldwide Foundation, pleaded guilty in federal court to a number of felonies linked to the scandal. Singer funneled money to coaches, school officials and bogus test proctors to guarantee the children of wealthy clientele could get accepted to top colleges across the country.

Montana’s four children all have finished college. His two sons followed their father’s path and played quarterback in college.

Other well-known clients of Singer have started to come forward, saying they used his services, but engaged in no wrongdoing.

Elite golfer Phil Mickelson was one.

“Our family, along with thousands of others, used Rick Singer’s company to guide us through the college admission process,” the golfer said in a tweet. “We are shocked by the revelations of these events. Obviously, we were not part of this fraud, our kids would disown us if we ever tried to interfere.”

Our family, along with thousands of others, used Rick Singer’s company to guide us through the college admission process. We are shocked by the revelations of these events. Obviously, we were not part of this fraud, our kids would disown us if we ever tried to interfere. — Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 14, 2019

More than a dozen wealthy Bay Area parents have been charged in the federal case, and a Stanford University sailing coach pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Singer to help get two teens into the college who had minimal boating experience.

The probe also ensnared Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, CEOs, a fashion designer, and a number of top college coaches.

In his 2014 Facebook post touting his book “Getting In,” Singer said he assisted a list of who’s who in Silicon Valley and the business world, including John Doerr, a managing partner at Kleiner Perkins.

Kleiner Perkins released a statement, which read in part: “John Doerr and (General Partner) Ted Schlein were clients of William Singer’s firm together with a long list of Valley luminaries. The scope of services provided to their children was limited to test tutoring and help with college applications — typical of services provided by thousands of private college counselors across the country — and nothing further. Neither individual is part of the Fed’s probe into William Singer.”

Singer’s Facebook post listed about a dozen other high-profile people as clients, including leaders of tech and clothing companies. Most could not immediately be reached, and The Chronicle could not confirm they used Singer’s services.

In his post, Singer writes about how difficult it is for students to get accepted into a top-tier college, no matter their grades or test scores.

“As a parent, ask what would you be willing to do to give your child a shot at one of these top schools?” Singer wrote.

“Only rigorous personal effort can reap the rewards that result from a successful college admissions campaign,” he concluded in his post, “but having the right coach alters the odds of GETTING IN.”

Note: This article has been updated to include additional reporting.

Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni