The Business of NIL: Parents, Brands, and the Power Behind College Sports | Justin J. Giangrande

Summary

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Right About Now – The Business of NIL: Parents, Brands, and the Power Behind College Sports | Justin J. Giangrande

Podcast: Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice
Host: Ryan Alford, The Radcast Network
Guest: Justin J. Giangrande, CEO & Founder of Network
Date: May 22, 2026

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Ryan Alford welcomes Justin J. Giangrande, a key player at the forefront of the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) revolution and founder of the collegiate sports agency Network. They dive deep into how NIL has transformed college athletics into a battleground of brands, athletes, and institutions—where social media power, legal ambiguity, and entrepreneurial hustle are rewriting the playbook for athletes as young as high schoolers. The discussion pulls back the curtain on the real business of college sports, offering actionable advice for parents, brands, and up-and-coming athletes.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Network’s Role in the NIL Era

Who is Network?

• Giangrande’s agency operates in major US cities, focusing on elite talent management within youth, collegiate, and pro sports.
• Services include 360° management, advisory for schools and brands, and content/production development.
• “We’re a boutique agency pack a punch and really are helping people navigate this college space.” – Giangrande (01:32)
• First agency to ever represent a high school athlete in NIL deals.

2. The Chaotic NIL Landscape

• Both host and guest agree the current NIL environment is a “House of Cards set on fire with a basketball and football thrown in.” (Giangrande, 03:21)
• Chaos fuels opportunity, but true stability requires “massive change” and collective agreement among power brokers like SEC and Big Ten commissioners.
• “Everyone, all the ads, all the school presidents, all the conference knows where we’re going. They just don’t want to get there because it’s painful.” – Giangrande (03:31)

3. Transparency, Regulation, and Power Structures

• Lack of transparency re: deals, spending, and scholarships.
• Uneven application/enforcement of rules across conferences and states creates confusion and a “wild west” mentality.
• “Who is in charge here? Who’s the adult around here?” – Giangrande (09:40)

4. Athletes as Brands & the Social Media Game

• Athletes are now brands in their teens; brands and agencies are learning to identify and nurture talent earlier.
• “If you’re asking how you get your son or daughter out there...Content development. At the end of the day, social media gets it out. That’s the truth.” – Giangrande (00:00; 24:06)
• Brands and agents actively recruit high schoolers who have cultivated online followings.

5. Advice to Parents & Aspiring Athletes

• Parents need trusted, experienced representation.
• “Help him get his social media going and then when you have real serious decisions to make, find a professional that you vetted.” – Giangrande (24:06)
• Giangrande emphasizes diligence, vetting agencies, building relationships, and prioritizing long-term fit over quick payouts.

6. Brand Strategies and Market Shifts

• Brands are hiring NIL specialists; getting in early on young stars is a competitive edge.
• There is a new willingness to invest in high school athletes, as opposed to focusing only on established professionals.
• Example: nxtrd, a mouthguard company, landed a rising college player early—when his endorsement value was lower; a ‘bet’ that pays off if the athlete’s profile rises.
• The next big underexploited area: women’s volleyball (“beautiful women, athletic game, fast paced, selling out stadiums...an undertapped resource or opportunity.” – Giangrande, 26:36)

7. Common Mistakes: Athletes & Brands

• Athletes: Mistake is thinking short-term—being brash may work but lack of on-field production will catch up.
  “Being a good person, not being narcissistic, not getting too high on yourself...that’s the reality.” – Giangrande (25:35)
• Brands: Not investing in elite high school talent early enough. “There’s you could pay a lot less early on.” – Giangrande (25:56)

8. College Sports: Education Needs to Evolve

• Colleges must adapt curricula to include content development and NIL management for athletes.
• Syracuse called out as a leader, successfully integrating communications, business, and journalism for real-life athlete skill building.
  “Schools need to basically give these kids resources. And the good schools that are doing it are figuring out how they leverage their college students to support their nil efforts and teach.” – Giangrande (20:15)

9. The Dabo Sweeney/Clemson Question

• Discussion on Dabo Sweeney’s delayed adaptation to the NIL age and Clemson’s struggle to catch up:
  “I see what he’s saying but exactly. It’s like you saw this coming. This wasn’t a surprise to think that you’re going to sustain the culture you have. The whole landscape’s changing.” – Giangrande (18:40)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On NIL Chaos:
  “Watching House of Cards set on fire with a basketball and football thrown in, that’s where we are.”
  — Justin J. Giangrande (03:21)

• On Early Branding:
  “There’s no question if I’m a brand, I’m way more interested in elite college and high school players than I am pro at this point. Pro players have made their money. There’s no limit to what college sports can be.”
  — Justin J. Giangrande (11:22)

• On the Role of Social:
  “As Gary Vee’s hype matters, the more hype you can build. It’s a monetization method...Help him get his social media going.”
  — Justin J. Giangrande (24:06)

• On Managing Athlete Careers:
  “My job is to get you paid the most from the school that is the best fit and you want to go to...My job is not to get you paid the most money.”
  — Justin J. Giangrande (16:36)

• On Market Opportunities:
  “Women’s volleyball. Beautiful women, athletic game, fast paced, selling out stadiums...great pro league being developed...”
  — Justin J. Giangrande (26:36)

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Key Segments & Timestamps

00:00-01:15 – Social media and early branding for youth athletes; importance of content.
01:32-03:21 – What Network does; types of athletes and services; NIL as a business.
03:21-04:59 – Chaos and confusion in NIL, lack of leadership, risk tolerance in universities.
08:19-09:47 – Addressing criticism and advocating for fairness, need for unified rules.
10:25-12:13 – The shifting attention in youth/college sports; brands much more interested in college/high school than ever before.
13:37-14:52 – Lessons from Gary Vee and Vaynersports; building businesses and relationships.
14:57-16:36 – Defining “agent” in the NIL era; state-by-state regulatory mess (Alabama vs. Texas rules).
16:36-18:07 – Balancing agent responsibilities: prioritizing long-term athlete fit vs. high-bid chasing.
18:07-19:26 – Clemson and the Dabo Sweeney NIL lag; cultural resistance and adaptation.
20:15-20:45 – Colleges evolving curricula to support athlete content and business skills.
22:29-23:21 – Brands betting on early-career athletes for max ROI; case studies, risk/reward.
24:06-24:58 – Practical advice for parents: trusted representation, content, and vetting agencies.
25:01-26:27 – Misunderstandings and mistakes: deal structures, long-term thinking, brand hesitation.
26:36-27:05 – Market frontiers: investing in women’s volleyball, real endorsements, school/brand partnerships.

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Actionable Takeaways

• For Parents: Help your athlete build a social presence early, vet representatives carefully, and focus on long-term fit over short-term money.
• For Brands: Pay attention to high school prospects—the next generation of influence is getting younger, and early bets can pay off.
• For Athletes: Be genuine, focus on performance, and don’t assume hype is a substitute for sustained excellence.
• For Colleges: Evolve education to include NIL management, content, and entrepreneurship for athletes.

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Connect With Justin & Network

• Website: thenetworkadvisory.com
• Instagram: @JG.network
• Twitter: @JGNetworkCEO

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Summary by Right About Now. For more insights, episodes, and resources:

• Website: ryanisright.com
• Instagram: @ryanalford

“Business the way it really works. No fluff. No theory. Just real people, real wins, real screw-ups.”

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Transcript

[A]

If you're asking how you get your son or daughter out there, you named it Ryan. Content development. At the end of the day, social media gets it out. That's the truth. As Gary Vee's hype matters, the more hype you can build. It's a monetization method. Now we're just dealing with college degrees and scholarships. Your kids, elite athlete, invest in him early, help him get his social media going and then when you have real serious decisions to make, find a professional that you vetted.

[B]

You don't win by following the playbook. You win by rewriting it 700 episodes deep with the people who actually built something real. No theory, no fluff, no shortcuts. This is Right about Now with Ryan Alford.

[C]

Youth sports, college sports. Name, image and likeness. We all know these terms and they're changing fast. The entire landscape. Athletes are truly becoming brands younger than ever. It's a reality that's here. We can't hide from it. We just got to learn to embrace it and know how to do what's right for the kids and for the brands. Justin Giangrande is the founder and CEO of Network where he works with elite athletes and brands at the center of the shift. Justin, welcome to right about now. What's up brother?

[A]

What's up man? Good to be on. I appreciate you having me on.

[C]

I appreciate you for joining the CEO of Network. A lot of the things you had done, I'd heard the name. You just own the fucking network. You are the CEO of Network.

[D]

Serial entrepreneur. You've gone the track.

[C]

I recognized a lot of names. What is Network? What are we doing today?

[A]

Network is a collegiate sports marketing and management agency. See we are located in Fort Lauderdale, New York City and Los Angeles as well as Atlanta. About staff of 20 executives from all over bigger agencies and just a bunch of hard working individuals. But we're laser focused on the business of college sports. From youth high school which leads into college and then college which leads into pro. But just really kind of through three lanes. 1 elite talent management. 44 men and women under management representing them and negotiating with the schools, branding and marketing them. The true sense of nil thinking of their charities and PR but really managing them. 360. We have an advisory business that works with schools and conferences and brands on their nil strategy. Some of my most proud work is Sacramento State who's elevated to division one. They've been a client of ours for two years led by my partner Doug Scott of helping to figure out ways to raise a profile of school and then production company, film and TV concepts, storytelling. We just had a show come out on Roku on Sacramento State basketball with Omaha and overtime. We're a boutique agency pack a punch and really are helping people navigate this college space. On it. Super early as we kind of go in. I was the first person to ever represent a high school athlete. United States, coming from my background and just have been bullish on what college sports as a business can be. We're just laser focused on really owning the space.

[C]

It's a fascinating time with the whole nil stuff. It's obviously still very fresh and new. The landscape has yet to be 100% defined. It's fascinating. As I look at. I'm a firm believer that it was a little late to the game. These guys, these guys, girls, whoever. Athletes in any sport generate a lot of attention, a lot of awareness, a lot of dollars for the universities. And not being able to profit on that I always saw was a miss in some ways our attempts to make up for the sins of the past or the wild west of the present.

[A]

That's well said. People ask me, this is good for business, but obviously this is chaos. And one of the. One of my advisors, mentors of mine said, Gordon Whitener said, you know, where there's chaos, there's opportunity. And Justin, you're at the heart of the chaos. People ask me all the time, are you surprised this hasn't gotten right? And I'm not. I'm not. Because everyone, all the ads, all the school presidents, all the conference knows where we're going. They just don't want to get there because it's painful. This was not set up for what needs to happen. You need to have a huge change of what happens and get a lot of stakeholders on board and reimagine the whole thing. Watching House of Cards set on fire with a basketball and football thrown in, that's where we are.

[C]

And I wonder where it's going to land. Who's going to be the body that controls this? The NCAA sort of washed their hands from it.

[A]

The people. This is not something that everyone doesn't know. The Big Ten and the SEC commissioners have the power. There's a piece that they like. People inherently are selfish at the end of the day. The fact that they have control for their conferences puts their conferences in a good spot to win. If the goal is winning national championships, it gives them an inherent advantage. That's why we see at times tussle gets the ad from Tennessee has gotten into it with the SEC commissioner A little bit Danny White, because at times he's called him out for not necessarily thinking about the big picture, which is an interesting dynamic. People think it's untenable what's kind of going on in college sports, even though it selfishly on our side probably benefits our business. Where there's fact that there's no collective bargaining, the fact that when I'm dealing with, they don't know what the other side of the table is. They don't know if a school is spending 40 million or 30 million or 20 million.

[C]

There's a complete lack of transparency going on of what these deals are and how much one university is paying for a player or whatever it is.

[A]

It's all about their purview of risk tolerance at ad. And the president and the GM of schools have to decide what their risk tolerance is. And then also they have to decide how much does the College Sports Commission actually matter? Do we even care that we're being governed? There's some schools that have never even signed the PAC as far as the College Sports Commission theory. The NCAA has put this thing in that some people are paying attention to, but there's other people who just don't even think it exists.

[C]

I'm a firm believer that the athletes should be paid. The argument is, are we rotting from the inside out the whole amateur athletics with what we're doing, monetizing everything, having no guard rails.

[D]

If you've got kids in middle school or high school, you already know homework can turn into a whole situation. What should take 20 minutes somehow turns into two hours. And half the time it ends with frustration on both sides. I've got four boys, three of them right in that middle and high school range. So I see it all the time. They hit a problem, get stuck. And it's not that they don't want to figure it out, they just don't

[C]

know how to get there.

[D]

That's why I've been looking into Brainly. Brainly is basically a 24,7 AI powered tutor that actually walks them through problems step by step. Not just giving answers by helping them understand how something works so they can build confidence and keep moving. And as a parent, that's the part I care about. It's not about the shortcuts, it's about them actually learning the material. It's also just practical. You don't have to deal with scheduling a tutor or trying to find things that line up around sports and everything else. It's there whenever they need it. And it's a lot more affordable than traditional Tutoring, honestly, it just takes a lot of pressure off. Finals are coming up. Build your teen study plan now. It only takes minutes. Go to brainly.com backslash Ryan to get 50% off your first Brainly subscription with my code Ryan. That's B R A I n l y.com Ryan. If you've got kids in middle school or high school, you already know homework can turn into a whole situation. What should take 20 minutes somehow turns into two hours. And half the time it ends with frustration on both sides. I've got four boys, three of them right in that middle and high school range. So I see it all the time. They hit a problem, get stuck. And it's not that they don't want to figure it out, they just don't

[C]

know how to get there.

[D]

That's why I've been looking into Brainly. Brainly is basically a 24.7ai powered tutor that actually walks them through problems step by step. Not just giving answers by helping them understand how something works so they can build confidence and keep moving. And as a parent, that's the part I care about. It's not about the shortcuts, it's about them actually learning the material. It's also just practical. You don't have to deal with scheduling a tutor or trying to find things that line up around sports and everything else. It's there whenever they need it and it's a lot more affordable than traditional tutoring. Honestly, it just takes a lot of pressure off. Finals are coming up. Build your teen study plan now. It only takes minutes. Go to brainly.com backslash Ryan to get 50% off your first Brainly subscription. With my code Ryan. That's B R A I n l y.com Ryan,

[C]

Your agency sits in getting the best deals for your clients and taking care of them. How do you respond to that criticism?

[A]

They didn't create this system. The powers that be, Ryan, could get on the same page whenever they want want. It's on them. Players are just reacting. The reality is the people who say they want organization are the same ones that are. Oh, man. Michigan spending 30. Well, here's another 10 million for Ohio State. They keep moving the goalpost because people want to win. It's about getting everyone on the same page. Who's going to be the leader. We've kind of seen it. We've had Trump come out and announce some things that normal citizens like, oh my God, it's all going to end. And we're like, that means nothing. That's basically him writing an Email saying hey, I would like college sports. You have to get everyone on the same page and the stakeholders and also when they this decision came down, this was a Supreme Court decision. It's not as easy to just tell people what you want. They've taken some shots. Nick Sabins went up there been a part of these things, man. If Nick Saban can't get it done, we got issues.

[C]

The biggest thing that I would like to see, the marketing deals and all that stuff, hey whatever.

[D]

Get as minutes as you can get.

[C]

If you've got influence and you've got impressions and eyes, then hey, sell that stuff, baby. How do you build a roster and a team? You thought the pros were bad with free agency. The changing rosters every year, seemingly no guardrails on that. That needs two year minimum. It needs to be good to the athlet athletes and fair for the athletes. We can't kill the sport and the fandom and the interest.

[A]

Everyone puts it on the athletes. At the end of the day the powers that be need to decide the rules that we're playing by and they actually stick to them. The talent and the agents are just reacting to what the opportunity is. That's just it. Who is in charge here? Who's the adult around here? And honestly I point the finger. It's the SEC commissioner and the Big ten commissioner. They have all the power. I mean they do.

[C]

Justin, talk to me about network. I've mentioned this on a few shows. Shameless Plug for a book I finished yet Raising a Brand which is how parents should navigate this world of name, image and likeness at an early stage to both take advantage and not go crazy. I'm curious how network you're obviously identifying athletes, individuals earlier helping them, guide them through this. More deals for high schoolers.

[A]

People were apprehensive to do deals with high schoolers. Real nil high schoolers. So real nil deals. We're watching. And if you look at my client Malachi, Tony, kids, 18 years old, has the world at his fingertips. Well deserved. Had just an absolute monster of a season called a shot and went out and did it. And that's remarkable. What I realize is all of these kids for 12, 13, 14, 15 year old kids who live on social media and drive eyeballs. Who are they looking up to? They're looking up to college kids, but even high school kids. There's a kid, Amir Sears who's a high schooler, 20, 28, you got 10, 12 year old kids that are trying to be him. What it is is they Consume online, overtime culture, Snapchat culture. Ultimately it becomes aspirational. As 12, you got to make it to 22 to be an NFL player, to have a life changing moment. What's crazy about high school or College is 17, 18 years old could be life changing for the family. I'm more interested as a youth in something that seems very close and obtainable to me. And that's why we're seeing a shift of the eyeballs. There's no question if I'm a brand, I'm way more interested in elite college and high school players than I am pro at this point. Pro players have made their money. There's no limit to what college sports can be. Men's basketball, men's football. We're going to see private equity coming in. We're seeing mixed use retail come in. We're in the third, third inning here

[C]

of nil at the end of the day might be a decent transition to a gentleman. You worked with Gary Vee. All attention is monetizable on some level. And so don't hate the fact that attention is a fleeting and scarce and valuable resource. When you can garner it for your skills, your looks, whatever is.

[D]

And as long as it's done in

[C]

the right way, especially for young athletes and young people, mature adults, then don't hate the player. You can hate the game, but it's life.

[D]

It's always been that way. It's just manifesting more because we have social media and we have these outlets.

[C]

We had this democratization of content and scale. You worked with Gary.

[D]

You're the president there.

[C]

You're now in the network. I mean, talk about some of that transition.

[D]

I know we're going to reverse order here.

[A]

I got connected to Gary and A.J. honestly, I was not familiar with them. In 2016. I had a previous company, Inclusive. It was a sports marketing and management company. Very similar to what network is now, but really focused on pro. 30 NFL and NBA players off the court, off the field. Three first round NFL picks in 2015. Gary and AJ approached me because they had just started Vaynersports I call it. I came in in month two. They truly have one NFL agent and two clients. At the time, AJ the younger brother had decided that he was going to be focused on this. I have such an appreciation for scaling business. My dad owns a Burger King. We can go into that. It is so hard to build, process and team, not be completely beholden to it as a owner. And I was so impressed with what they built with a media agency at such a young Age. And so I thought to myself, life's about journeys. Why not go on this journey? You're going to learn something really great. It was a lot of fun. I got to watch how they maneuver. People ask me all the time what it's like to work with Gary. It's pretty crazy. Exactly like you think. I also tell people that AJ doesn't get enough credit. AJ is as smart as Gary and Gary will tell you that. Unbelievable with people, his emotional intelligence. So I took a lot of takeaways from that. A lot of fun building a sports agency with two serial entrepreneurs who love competition. We got after it and every day we swung the sword. They really did, you know, it's just a lot of fun. I had the same birthday as Gary.

[C]

How long were you with them?

[A]

2016 to 2020. About four and a half years. Got to build that the NFL side with them. Pretty sturdy. A lot of fun though. Just wizard sharp. The most impressive thing is with all the success Gary and AJ have, they work their asses off every single day. Gary once said to me, I love the game. The best game of all time is business. It's not playing basketball, it's not football, it's business. People are maneuvering. Learn a lot from those guys. Not how to over hire, just what people you need at what time in your company's life cycle. A lot of people don't think about that. When to take on capital, when not really. If you put the clients first. Cool thing with them is because they had so much success, they were definitely not doing it for the money. That's for damn sure. If you really can build about doing the right thing by your clients, usually it has a good compounding effect. And that had a really good effect on Net Network. We're very lucky. A lot of our clients and really the parents of the clients are so loyal to us. Not because we're giving them marketing guarantees, not because anything else. They believe in what we're doing. They believe that we give a shit about their kids. And these are children we're recruiting kids that are 16 years old. That's where you have to be if you're trying to land an elite high school quarterback basketball player. You got to basically be in it. 16 to 17 year old, establishing a relationship with them before they go to college. And I don't lose sight of that. These are people's kids. What's more important to build a relationship with the parent? 80% parent, 20% kid defy find for

[C]

me the difference between marketing agent, sports agent, you have to be a lawyer to do this.

[A]

Unfortunately, I never wanted to have the term agent. I truly think of myself and our company as management. Thinking about all areas of their business. Negotiating with the school, doing endorsement deals, thinking about pr. True. Like career management. However, in the NIL era, we gotta call these people something. They were like, all right, your agents. Because in certain states you had to get your agent license. Unfortunately, I am considered an NIL agent. I really fancy myself more a marketing and branding person. But I also have a high aptitude and the company does of negotiating with the schools. My whole life has been negotiating endorsement deals and deals for talent. And this is the same. People ask why we have a competitive advantage. There's on the negotiating with school. I'm not stupid. There's probably people that are equal to what we do. I've just had a lot of reps. I had the first high school athlete in the United States sign Malachi Nelson. So that just means I've been at this longer. That's 2021. We're still sitting here. Alabama and Texas. Alabama still does not allow high school and NIL in any form. Think about that. You got kids in California, one of the biggest states can monetize themselves whatever. July 21st of 2021 and you're still sitting here with everything we just went on with the craziness of college sports. Kids in Alabama cannot monetize themselves at all in high school. Which. How's that fair? Has that even. What's that look like? Texas is crazy. Texas is crazy. You know the rules in Texas. No Texas, you can get high school nil from a school that you're going to. If it's an in state school, you go to Texas A and M. Houston, Texas, you live in Texas. A high schooler, they can pay you in advance. But if you want to go to Oklahoma, absolutely not.

[C]

Your company exists and makes by negotiating deals for young athletes. How do you balance what's good for the goose and what's good for the gander? The role that you play in that.

[A]

It's pretty simple if you think about it through this lens and I have a lot of clients like this. The most important thing is putting the kids in. If you look at it through the lens that if you put them in the right situation or school fit culture to be successful, money will come. Don't think of it through one transaction. At the end of the day, to really get paid and even in college you have to pursue produce. That's when we see these big numbers. After you produced, there's lots of times that I put kids at schools where there's a lot more money on the table. I tell families all the time my job is to get you paid the most from the school that is the best fit and you want to go to that is my job. My job is not to get you paid the most money. When you think of it through that lane no there are absolutely people who do not. There's bad agents out there who control the flow of information. There's kids that probably never know know what one school's offering versus the other. We share everything. Our job is to have those conversations, put it together, share it with the family. The parents usually then decide how that information gets to the kid. Do we want a 16, 17 year old kid known what the offers are? I have some clients that their decision some very high profile clients in this last class that the parents wanted me to have all the conversations. Let him go through the recruiting process within the last five days when he was down to two or three hey share with me. We're now going to share him the financial difference if I do my job and our team does our job. Most times those all offers are pretty close. I'm we're an agency that doesn't fall in love with having every conversation with every school and just trying to drive the price up. That's not our game. Our game is that ultimately these guys are trying to get to the NFL or the NBA as well.

[C]

I have a very related to my fandom question. Why was Dabo Sweeney so late to the game and has he caught up? Are they going to catch up? You know what I'm talking about.

[A]

It's uncomfortable to watch. He's accepted this and he hates it but doesn't want to leave being a coach.

[C]

I went to Clemson. I'm a Clemson guy. I love Dabo. We'll put a you up. I respect his morals and his values, all those things but the game changed. He didn't. We got behind. Now we're trying to play catch up but I'm not sure we will. And that's just being honest about as a Clemson fan it's one of the

[A]

more interesting moves we've ever seen to push back on an ecosystem. I see what he's saying but exactly. It's like you saw this coming. This wasn't a surprise to think that you're going to sustain the culture you have. The whole landscape's changing. Do I think they can catch up? I don't know if they can get to where they were.

[C]

They got A lot of money. The success that he did have and the base and the contracts that they have in place from that success, the revenue share and all that, it seems like they should be in the top 10 competitively when they want someone. That's fascinating. Sort of related. I mean, as you do your job. I mean, because. Have you had a deal directly with Clemson in any deals or anything?

[A]

I dealt with them early. It was uncomfortable. That's not how we do it here. I get it. And don't get mad at me. The way this is played, I don't think they've adapted that well. They're starting to. But the proof's going to be in the pudding. We'll see.

[C]

Davin knows it. I'm a firm believer in some ways that he should control his destiny. But there's just too much money involved, too many other variables. Two things can be true. You can be loyal to everything that he did, and you can also go, well, we can't go down in flames.

[A]

You're taking away from everything he built. What needs to happen is we're going to see what the season is, you guys. Same thing with South Carolina. Temperature is getting pretty warm over there, too.

[C]

Talking with Justin Gian Grande, Big John, he's the CEO of Network. Where's this all headed on the youth athletes education around content management. It drives me crazy. I have a wife that's an administrator. I see what they teach kids. They need to get the playbook right for what's going to help in the future. Learning content development, learning their role. Because the kids that can. That are athletes that can develop content and be structured and disciplined about it and creative, that's your probably rockstar client and it's good for them.

[A]

We're actually starting to see some of the programming in classes at college become more real life. Think colleges saw a dip where people weren't applying to college as much because they were being serial entrepreneurs. Actually, we'll give some of these schools credit. Syracuse has done an unbelievable job of marrying their communications with their business school and journalism school and how that all comes together. But you're absolutely seeing in school. Schools need to basically give these kids resources. And the good schools that are doing it are figuring out how they leverage their college students to support their nil efforts and teach.

[C]

Starting something new isn't just exciting, it's

[D]

honestly a little terrifying. I remember right before I launched my podcast, all those what if thoughts creeping in. But looking back, taking that leap was

[C]

one of the best decisions I've made.

[D]

And I'll tell you you having the

[C]

right tools makes a huge difference. That's where Shopify comes in.

[D]

From massive brands to people just getting started, they make it easier to go

[C]

from idea to real business.

[D]

You get hundreds of ready to use templates, design a store that actually looks like your brand, plus AI tools that help write product descriptions, headlines, even enhance product photos instead of bouncing between different platforms. Everything's just in one place place which honestly saves us a ton of time. And that's the part people don't always see. It's not just about building a website. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses and 10% of all E commerce in the United States. And it's built to handle everything as you grow. We've used it to keep things organized in store and online, run email campaigns and stay on top of business without things slipping through the crack cracks. It just makes operating smoother. Start your business today with the industry's best business partner, Shopify and start hearing Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com Ryan that's shopify.com

[A]

Ryan the athletes how to grow on social.

[C]

How awake is the brand ecosystem to the nil athletes and the attention opportunity of these athletes?

[A]

100%. The brands are looking at everything that's going on. Most brands at this part have an nil person who's at minimum one person who's paying attention. Because if you get nil you sign the right client roster or client for your brand, it could really help you take off at a disproportionate value. You bet early on a kid, you pay him X and all of a sudden in the next six months he becomes Y. I'll give you an example. We did a deal with nxtrd who is a mouth guard company. They did a deal with Malachi Tony middle of the season. Yesterday's price would not be today's price. But I'm not mad at that. At the end of the day, cost benefit everything in different spaces may put a risk.

[C]

Put the money down when others might not have or played that game so they get to the other side of it. You can probably live with that. You're going to go sh hire on the back end. So those deals work both ways? Probably. I mean sometimes athletes don't pan out. Talk about that side of you're probably now in the evolution stage experiencing both ends of that. How's that?

[A]

I've seen it for sure. The ups and downs make a commitment. Someone hasn't panned out. It's all About a journey being a long game. It's been written. We have a client, Malachi Nelson, who's now the quarterback in Syracuse and he's had an up and down journey. USC to Boise to utep, now to Syracuse. But what I've learned, it's all about riding with these guys and finding them at the right spot at the right time, which is super exciting and revolutionary, rewarding. And then if you're a brand just doing your research and yeah, you're placing a bet just like you'd be at the pro, you got to do your research and be at peace with your soul.

[C]

What would you tell parents? We've got a diverse audience, 25 to 50 year olds, some a lot with maybe burgeoning athletes. And how could should would parents be navigating this land if they have a son or daughter that's has this potential?

[A]

First, if you're not married or married, you go to the gym and you find the best athletic specimen and you target them for marriage. How do you navigate it? And this has resonated with some parents. You have to trust someone at some point, finding a good representation that has a track record that fits you, an attorney, someone you can trust as a parent that is going to advocate for you and your family. Definitely. Because to think that you're going to swallow this whole thing up yourself when there's so many moving pieces, it's just not realistic. Do your diligence, vet different companies, ask questions, get involved. If you're asking how you get your son or daughter out there, you need to rhyme. Content development. At the end of the day, social media gets it out. That's the truth. As Gary Vee's hype matters, the more hype you can build. It's a monetization method. Now we're just dealing with college degrees and scholarships. Your kids, elite athlete, invest in them early, help him get his social media going and then when you have real serious decisions to make, find a professional that you vetted.

[C]

What's the most misunderstood part of nil?

[A]

The difference between a one and two year deal for an elite high school player going to college and the importance of that? I'd say that understanding good elite, four or five star prospect, how to protect yourself, maybe importance of your first deal getting a little bit more guaranteed and leaving something on the backside or building in escalators. That's a really big one because schools are trying to convince you everyone's doing a one year deal right now for

[C]

the school side performance baby. Clemson did finally play all these guys last year and the performance kind of sucked. That's an interesting part of all this. Biggest mistake athletes make understanding that if

[A]

you're brash and out there it can help you but when you don't produce on the field, everyone's going to judge you. Being a good person, not being narcissistic, not getting too high on yourself, especially in this environment and realize that there's going to be ups and downs and and don't think all of a sudden because you had one good year that it's smooth sailing. That's the reality.

[C]

Biggest mistake brands make in this nil

[A]

era actually not investing further goes back to your point Ryan. Investing further in high school there's a lot of opportunity in elite high school talent specifically in football. In football there's top five to 10 guys in each high school class that you basically can bet are going to be superstars. There's you could pay a lot less early on.

[C]

That's the next new frontier. That's what I did. I was Justin that's where I'd be and if I was the brands, if I was brand manager that's where I'd be too. Attention it's tough but man they follow

[D]

those high school players man. They are superstars.

[C]

And the ones that are doing it, I know people are doing it and I know y' all are into adjusting but that is untapped. The what's the best opportunity in college sports right now?

[A]

Women's volleyball. Beautiful women, athletic game, fast paced, selling out stadiums. Women's volleyball great pro league being developed in love. Women's volleyball's an undertapped resource or opportunity.

[C]

One thing that will matter more more

[A]

in five years your school's ability to get brand partners to invest in nil for the athletes actual endorsement deals not just fake revenue. I'd say regionally going through Tennessee Pilot, Flying J that's going to continue to matter Real endorsement deal money.

[C]

Why wouldn't they want to help facilitate getting these brands to sign bigger deals for their athletes it helps augment what they're getting. University that figures that out sounds like a winner to me. I'm sure some already are. Justin, it's been fun man.

[A]

It's been really fun. I really appreciate the time and always here to talk and I and excited

[C]

I can tell your here and I can tell if you're a parent they need to write down any T w o r K Big John, Justin Diego Grande drop some deets for me brother. Where can everybody learn more about what you guys are up to? Social web all that stuff.

[A]

Appreciate you having us on thenetwork advisory.com on social. I'[e-mail] on Instagram at JG Network CEO on Twitter.

[D]

Appreciate it, brother.

[C]

Let's stay in touch.

[A]

Appreciate you guys.

[C]

Hey, guys, you're going to find us Ryan is right.com hey, man, it's a lot of bad advice out there. There's a lot of bad people out there. It's all about getting right now. Ryan is right.com we appreciate network. We appreciate Justin for coming on. We appreciate you for making us number one. We'll see you next time on right about now.

[B]

Here's the truth. Information doesn't change your life. Execution does. So. So don't just listen to this episode and move on. Take the idea, make the call. Launch the thing. Fix the problem. Build what you keep talking about building. For more, follow Ryan Alford on Instagram ryanalford and watch or listen to every [e-mail] this is right about now. Now quit waiting. Go win.