Play well.
Win games.
Hope somebody notices.

That world is gone.

Now we’re in a world of NIL, content, personal brands, and business plays happening while you’re still in the locker room.
And if you’re not careful, you’ll let everyone else monetize your image while you’re still trying to figure out who you are.

This is the moment to build like a life athlete, not just a sports athlete.

If you’re a current athlete, you’re sitting on something massive.

Your name.
Your story.
Your work ethic.
Your community.

That’s a brand.

NIL opened the door for college athletes to get paid.
But here’s the part nobody emphasizes enough:

It’s not just about grabbing quick deals.
It’s about setting up a brand and a business that survives after the last whistle.

Ask yourself:

You’re not just a logo’s athlete.
You are you.
And that’s the person you have to bet on long-term.

College sports are turning into a bigger business every year.
More money. More deals. More noise.

You can either:

Position yourself like this:

If a brand wants to work with you, ask:

You’re not just signing deals.
You’re signing pieces of your story.

Whether we like it or not, money is the foundation of everything in the sense that:

Rent.
Food.
Freedom.
Time.

All of it gets easier when money is handled.

I’m not saying worship it.
I’m saying respect it.

When you start to think of yourself as a business, everything shifts:

You are the company.
Your habits are the operations.
Your brand is the marketing.
Your values are the mission statement.

Ask: What kind of business is my life right now?

If NIL and brand and business are the new field…

Education is your film study.

Not school assignments.
Self-education.

The podcasts you listen to.
The books you read.
The people you follow.
The questions you ask.

Most athletes will chase deals with no idea how contracts, taxes, brand positioning, or content strategy even work.

Don’t do that.

Lead with education:

When you understand the game, you stop being a pawn in it.

At the core of all of this—brand, NIL, business, money—is one thing:

Personal development.

Who you are becoming.
What you believe.
What you practice every day.
How you treat people.
How you treat yourself.

You can’t build a strong brand on a weak identity.

We spent years trying to improve:

Now it’s time to improve:

If you grow as a person, everything else has a stronger foundation:

Career.
Relationships.
Brand.
Money.
Impact.

Personal development is not a side quest.
It is the main quest.

Your brain has something called the Reticular Activating System.
It’s the filter.

Whatever you focus on, it finds more of.

When you were deep in sport, your RAS was tuned to:

Now, if you’re not careful, it gets tuned to:

If you focus on the negative, your brain will keep feeding you more of it.
If you start intentionally focusing on growth, opportunity, and solutions, your brain will start bringing more of those into your awareness.

Your RAS is basically asking:
“What are we looking for?”

Tell it:

Then back it up with action.

Here’s a simple way to start:

1. Brand:
Write one sentence: “I want to be known as the former athlete who ______.”
That’s your brand anchor.

2. Business & Money:
List one way you could create value around who you are and what you care about.
Not a perfect plan—just a starting point.

3. Education:
Pick one piece of content daily: podcast, book chapter, article, long-form video.
Study like it’s film.

4. Personal Development:
Choose one trait to improve this month (discipline, patience, communication, etc.).
Run reps on it daily.

5. RAS / Mindset:
Every morning, write down three things you’re grateful for and three opportunities you see in your current situation.
Train your mind to spot the good and the possible.

You’re not just trying to survive after sport.
You’re building a life that can thrive because you understand the game you’re in.

Brand.
Business.
Education.
Development.
Mindset.

This is life athlete work.

Master Your Next Season.