Everything around the athlete,
in the open.
A college athlete and their family at the center. The school, the brand, the agent, the boosters, the platform they already use, the clearinghouse, the money, and the education nobody gives them, all around. Every line between them is a document anyone can check. Everything that used to hide in the gaps stays outside the ring. Tap any point to see how it usually works and how it works here.
Labels on each point say what is running today. Green is real and checked. Amber runs with a stated gap. Grey is designed. Red waits on a named decision.
The show, and what it means now
Cars in the parking lot, cash at the recruiting visit, a collective's promise tied to signing day. Since June 6, 2025 that world has a referee it did not have before, and most athletes have never been told what changed.
Bling first, paper later
- A booster or collective promises money or a car for showing up; the paperwork, if any, comes after.
- Nobody classifies the deal. Nobody values it. Nobody tells the athlete a gifted car is taxable and can be clawed back.
- The money looks like NIL but buys attendance, which has been barred at every level since 2021.
- When the rules catch up, the athlete carries the eligibility risk and the booster carries none.
Classified, valued, disclosed
- A booster or collective is an associated entity on the deal card. Division I deals of $600 or more go to the clearinghouse for a valid-business-purpose and fair-value review; a car for enrolling fails that review.
- Real deliverables, a flat fee, a usage window and an exit are written before anyone signs; the Shield flags anything tied to performance or school choice.
- The ledger says who paid, for what, and the disclosure that applies. The report pack reaches the compliance office inside the clock.
- Nothing on the record can be rewritten later, so the athlete's eligibility is protected by paper, not by promises. Compliance workspace.
Education: what the money is, and what it is not
An eighteen-year-old is handed more money than their family has seen and nobody explains it. The point of the record is that the athlete understands it, not just that it exists.
How a deal is priced and paid
Flat fee, deliverables, usage window, exit. How the clearinghouse values a deal. Why a percentage is the wrong shape. Dated and sourced. Read it.
Your rights, in one page
What an athlete is entitled to before signing, what a guardian must do under eighteen, and who to ask when a clause looks wrong. Athlete Bill of Rights · The disclosure rule.
How athletes get taken
The pitches that look like NIL and are not: pay-to-be-featured, advance fees, fake brands, a stranger with a deal in your messages. The check that stops most of it · Financial Safety Desk.
Real infrastructure, not a fad
A short course for athletes and families on how the financial system actually works: what a payment is, what a record is, how payments, taxes and contracts fit together, and why a speculative digital collectible is not an asset and not a plan. Designed with the Live the Dream Athletics youth side.
Taxes and the first 1099
NIL income is taxable income. A plain primer on estimated payments, what a gifted car means at tax time, and when to get a professional. Not tax advice; built with counsel.
A record you can show a lender
A documented history of signed, delivered, paid work is what lenders, landlords and future employers ask for. The ledger and receipts are built to be that history, with the athlete's consent to share.
Long-term, both ways
The old market was one-year and one-sided. A documented record is what makes a multi-year commitment credible for everyone at the table, while the athlete keeps a real exit.
Loyalty you can write down
Since the House settlement a school may pay athletes directly. A multi-year institutional agreement with milestones, recorded term by term, gives a program a reason to invest in an athlete and the athlete a reason to stay. Terms over twelve months are flagged for review, never blocked: a guardian, an attorney or the compliance office reads them first.
- Milestones and payments recorded as they happen
- Both sides' exit terms written in
- The record travels if the athlete transfers anyway
Standing that a handshake never had
A representation agreement with a defined term, a disclosed fee and time-limited authority, recorded, means the relationship is on paper that neither side can rewrite. The agent can show years of documented work when the athlete goes professional. The athlete can leave under the exit terms that were agreed, not on a whim and not by being trapped.
- Authority granted by the athlete, for a stated period
- Fee disclosed on the ledger; nothing hidden
- Exit terms for both sides, flagged for review when long
How a deal moves, and how the money follows
Six steps. Each one leaves a document behind. The state label says what runs today.
What the athlete can do now
One plain agreement
A flat fee or none, exact deliverables, a usage window, a real exit. Under eighteen a parent or guardian signs first. The deal card puts the whole deal on one page before anyone signs.
Proof that verifies itself
Each signature gets a receipt that re-checks live and links to the record before it. Nothing can be altered or back-dated without breaking the chain. How signing works.
From junior college to the next school
The ledger entry, the receipt and the report pack travel with the athlete. A transfer hands the Division I compliance office the whole history inside 14 days.
Know who is on the other end
Brands and representatives carry a verified entity profile. A school or brand can check an athlete's signed verification statement without calling us. Know Your Athlete.
Contract Shield
Paste any contract. It flags terms over twelve months, broad exclusivity, automatic renewal, assignment of future earnings, blanket power of attorney, and intermediary fees above twenty percent. A flag blocks self-service signing. Try it.
What the athlete is actually into
A short, athlete-written list on the Know Your Athlete profile: trucks, fishing, music, faith, a hometown, a cause. Shown only to verified brands, only with the athlete's consent, never sold. The point is deals that fit the person, product the athlete would use anyway, and cross-promotion with brands that already share the audience. Free product is compensation in kind: it goes on the ledger and it is taxable.
The clock, computed
Five business days for a Division I deal of $600 or more. Fourteen days after a transfer. The pack prints the dates and the checklist. Compliance workspace.
What stays outside the ring
Hidden percentages
No commission, no share of a deal, no fee tied to an outcome, for anyone. Introductions earn a capped flat honorarium that is itself on the ledger.
Pay for play and school choice
Nothing in an agreement may depend on performance, on attending a school, or on a recruiting decision. The agreement text does not allow it and the ledger shows it.
The clauses that trap athletes
Blanket power of attorney, assignment of future earnings, automatic renewal, exclusivity broader than a category. Contract Shield flags each one; a flag stops self-service signing.
Fake payors and fake profiles
Brands and representatives are verified entities with a named signatory. Athlete profiles are claimed by the athlete. A school can check both without asking us.
School marks and facilities
Under high-school and two-year rules the athlete uses no school logo, uniform or facility in a deal. The deal card asks; the rules page says why.
Guesswork on the rules
Every level and state on the rules page carries a source and a date, or the word UNVERIFIED. No one signs under a rule nobody has read.
Dated information, not legal advice, not tax advice. State labels are checked against the live site on the date shown on the transparency stack.