Most of you guys probably don't even know who I am - but allow me a minute to introduce myself. Way back in the old days, 2005 actually, I started a website called UteZone.com. UteZone started out as a network affiliate of Rivas.com and I was THE ONLY show in town religiously covering Utah recruiting. After a lot of life happened, I decided to get out of this world all together sold the site to my business partner, and as you probably know he eventually moved UteZone to a competitor network, and our old friend Alex Markham decided to retain ownership of the Utah affiliate for Rivals.
These days I'm working with a late stage AI startup out of Silicon Valley, and I'm honestly having a blast counting down the days to my early retirement lol. On the side however, the college athletics itch always remained, begging to be scratched, and last summer I couldn't resist any longer. I always knew this was a world I might some day revisit..
So, I rounded up a few colleagues with similar entrepreneurial backgrounds and began laying the groundwork for a new take on NIL. Our idea was simple: NIL for ALL. Initially with NIL, It seemed like it was going to be just another way for the top schools and top athletes to continue getting the majority slice of the pie, and that bothered me, a lot. So we began building a platform, one with the goal of giving literally every athlete at every college the opportunity to make some extra money using their Name, Image, and Likeness. To make it even better, we devised a simple model for revenue sharing which would benefit the entire team any time an athlete signs an NIL deal, not just the single athlete. Needless to say, the response has been overwhelming.
Now, I just want to clear up one major misconception most people have about student athletes: Student athletes DO NOT live high on the hog. I can confidently say 99% of them actually have a hard time with basic financial needs such as food, gas money if they even have a car, which many do not, and living expenses. As you all know, the cost of living in Salt Lake City has skyrocketed in the last two years, and the per diem allowance these kids get does not even come close to covering rent and other expenses. I'm not here to spin you a sorrow tail of pity for these kids however. They are kids having a college experience and are figuring out how to be an adult. But, many of them struggle, and even working a part time job much of time is barely enough to make ends meet. I can assure you, even though the NCAA wants to make you believe they are amateur athletes. They are not. They train like professionals, and they deserve some of that money that the NCAA and University earns from them.
So, why am I here? I'm here to ask you all to come out and support some of these kids next Thursday, April 21st at a HOT and EXCITING new club + kitchen called Flanker. The company who opened this establishment spent a LOT of money making this thing legit, and we are guaranteeing our attendees a night they will never forget. For $75 bucks you get to hang out with current Utah athletes, eat really good food for free, play golf simulator with some of these kids, and watch the Rose Bowl all over again. Yeah it wasn't the outcome all were hoping for, but it was a very important step for the program and one I feel confident they will take again this season. If you can't afford $75 bucks, then just spend $35 bucks and you won't get food, but you can still get everything else. And most importantly, the majority of the funds for this event will be going directly into the pockets of these student athletes.
I am posting the link here for anyone who wants to help support these kids by purchasing tickets: Buy Tickets Here!
We are growing like crazy at LockerRoom, with hundreds of athletes across dozens of schools - And I gotta say, these student athletes are LEGIT at promoting themselves. Hop on over to our Instagram account @getlockerrrom and follow us to see for yourself!
It's so good to be back on here all the way full circle for me to the place where I started. If you have any questions at all feel free to ask away! I am excited about this NIL Collective we have created and am looking forward to seeing Utah student athletes expand their NIL opportunities in the future.
These days I'm working with a late stage AI startup out of Silicon Valley, and I'm honestly having a blast counting down the days to my early retirement lol. On the side however, the college athletics itch always remained, begging to be scratched, and last summer I couldn't resist any longer. I always knew this was a world I might some day revisit..
So, I rounded up a few colleagues with similar entrepreneurial backgrounds and began laying the groundwork for a new take on NIL. Our idea was simple: NIL for ALL. Initially with NIL, It seemed like it was going to be just another way for the top schools and top athletes to continue getting the majority slice of the pie, and that bothered me, a lot. So we began building a platform, one with the goal of giving literally every athlete at every college the opportunity to make some extra money using their Name, Image, and Likeness. To make it even better, we devised a simple model for revenue sharing which would benefit the entire team any time an athlete signs an NIL deal, not just the single athlete. Needless to say, the response has been overwhelming.
Now, I just want to clear up one major misconception most people have about student athletes: Student athletes DO NOT live high on the hog. I can confidently say 99% of them actually have a hard time with basic financial needs such as food, gas money if they even have a car, which many do not, and living expenses. As you all know, the cost of living in Salt Lake City has skyrocketed in the last two years, and the per diem allowance these kids get does not even come close to covering rent and other expenses. I'm not here to spin you a sorrow tail of pity for these kids however. They are kids having a college experience and are figuring out how to be an adult. But, many of them struggle, and even working a part time job much of time is barely enough to make ends meet. I can assure you, even though the NCAA wants to make you believe they are amateur athletes. They are not. They train like professionals, and they deserve some of that money that the NCAA and University earns from them.
So, why am I here? I'm here to ask you all to come out and support some of these kids next Thursday, April 21st at a HOT and EXCITING new club + kitchen called Flanker. The company who opened this establishment spent a LOT of money making this thing legit, and we are guaranteeing our attendees a night they will never forget. For $75 bucks you get to hang out with current Utah athletes, eat really good food for free, play golf simulator with some of these kids, and watch the Rose Bowl all over again. Yeah it wasn't the outcome all were hoping for, but it was a very important step for the program and one I feel confident they will take again this season. If you can't afford $75 bucks, then just spend $35 bucks and you won't get food, but you can still get everything else. And most importantly, the majority of the funds for this event will be going directly into the pockets of these student athletes.
I am posting the link here for anyone who wants to help support these kids by purchasing tickets: Buy Tickets Here!
We are growing like crazy at LockerRoom, with hundreds of athletes across dozens of schools - And I gotta say, these student athletes are LEGIT at promoting themselves. Hop on over to our Instagram account @getlockerrrom and follow us to see for yourself!
It's so good to be back on here all the way full circle for me to the place where I started. If you have any questions at all feel free to ask away! I am excited about this NIL Collective we have created and am looking forward to seeing Utah student athletes expand their NIL opportunities in the future.
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