Collectives are organizations that fund raise via large and small donors or relationships with businesses with the intent to direct that money to a school’s athletes through NIL deals. Collectives are not formally associated with schools or athletic departments themselves, but they do exist to benefit certain programs, and their names, staffing and activities make that clear.

While much attention has been given to the millions of dollars flowing through major college collectives, Johnnie Athletes sees different opportunities for Division III athletes and believes that implementing a successful NIL collective at the Division III level must involve: Organizing and activating large numbers of alumni in each sport Building and maintaining a strong network of support for athletes during and especially after their years on campus Leveraging educational resources that exist within the university to help athletes build an identity and brand as well as marketing capacity NIL opportunities for Johnnie Athletes can elevate the player experience and success of each program while attracting and retaining the best student athletes at the Division III level. In short, we believe that NIL opportunities at this level give us an awesome opportunity to build community around our student athletes.

Student athletes are compensated for use of their name, image and likeness, not simply for playing their sport or their performance in that sport, so no, it is not Pay-For-Play.

Yes. Coaches can inform recruits that athletes at their school receive NIL deals and even suggest that the specific recruit could be considered for a NIL deal. That however is where the coaches involvement ends. Johnnie Athletes, along with its sports specific advisor, can step in and detail what NIL deal would be available for a recruit. NOTE: The NIL rules around promising deals for recruits is changing, and the changes are making it easier to make a specific NIL deal AND make that deal contingent on that athlete coming to a specific school. Compliance around this moving target is one of the things Johnnie Athletes monitors and helps manage.

Yes. NIL income needs to be included in the taxable income reported by students on Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application forms. If the taxable income students receive is deemed to be high enough, they could receive less financial aid than the amount they request.

Since the majority of the financial support for NIL will be from alumni or fans, and be directed to a specific sport, that money will be allocated for NIL opportunities for that sport's athletes. There will be very little “undifferentiated” money where a decision about how to distribute will need to be made. Distribution decisions regarding undifferentiated funds will be decided by Johnnie Athletes management in consultation with our advisory board and will focus on areas of special need or opportunity.

No. Our organization is structured as an LLC. Given this structure, memberships are not tax deductible nor considered a charitable donation. However, we do recognize the importance of accommodating charitable giving and are exploring partnerships with 501c3 organizations that may offer tax-deductibility options. Contact us at info@johnnieathletes.com if you are interested in discussing this type of contribution.

Yes, it can be. Johnnie Athletes through its NIL relationships with athletes can have that athlete help promote your business thereby making the cost of supporting NIL a legitimate business expense. Check with your account to confirm.

Any student athlete who is contracted with Johnnie Athletes must agree to the following: Consistently demonstrate positive and constructive leadership at Saint John's and in the community Fulfill the expectations set forth in their contracts which may include: Signing autographs Public speaking at community events Social media posts Endorsing local businesses Be registered in the Johnnie Exchange Be compliant with all State, SJU and NCAA Division III policies around NIL

Here are some examples. Some of these can be website postings of videos, BLOGS or other activities that don’t require the student athlete to travel to specific locations or at specific times.

Johnnie Athletes is a separate entity with no formal relationship with Saint John’s University. Johnnie Athletes is, however, the official and only NIL Collective supporting Saint John’s University athletes.

Yes. This NIL initiative is supported at the highest levels of the university. Johnnie Athletes works closely with SJU leadership including the President’s Office, Institutional Advancement and the SJU Athletic Department to ensure the efforts to support NIL are consistent with the mission, vision, strategic direction and values of the university.

NIL is transforming the student athlete experience by providing financial opportunities to athletes that will allow SJU to attract and retain the best student athletes at the Division III level. The impact this is having on college athletics is significant and we have already begun to see it embraced by successful Division III athletic programs around the nation. Johnnie Athletes, along with SJU leadership, sees this new manner of support for SJU athletes as an unparalleled opportunity to: enhance the player experience, further build a community of engagement and support around athletics, elevate programs to become top tier performers nationally, and position Saint John’s University as leader and innovator in the athletic and academic space.

No. This should not be an “instead of” support. If you are supporting SJU Athletics through other mechanisms, we want you to continue to do that. It is extremely important that this NIL initiative DOES NOT take away from already supported initiatives. You should however support NIL and contribute through Johnnie Athletes if your sport of interest has a clear plan for using NIL to: enhance player experience, further build their community of support, and elevate their program’s performance to become competitive nationally. NIL can achieve these goals in ways no other mechanism can as long as your sport has a vision for its use, and the support you provide is overall additive to the program.

All athlete transactions are executed through the Teamworks Influencer App and the Johnnie Exchange. This platform assists student athletes in documentation and reporting of any NIL payments, and allows the college to monitor and regulate NIL activity to ensure it is compliant with school and NCAA policies. This platform is endorsed by the NCAA for use in NIL programs. https://app.inflcr.com/exchange/saint-johns-university

Yes. NIL deals can be made directly with student athletes and without Johnnie Athletes involvement. However, SJU Athletics has decided to have all NIL activity for their sports coordinated through a single entity thereby ensuring NIL relationships are consistent with each sport’s goals and needs for NIL and to remain compliant with NCAA and SJU policies and procedures.

Technically, yes. Johnnie Athletes is a multi member LLC with a cost recovery business model. A portion of the money raised and dispersed through Johnnie Athletes is retained to cover operating expenses that include: website development and maintenance, transaction fees, legal and accounting fees, event, merchandise and NIL fulfillment-related expenses.

There are 4 ways that funds can flow into Johnnie Athletes for NIL opportunities: Direct donations from fans, alumni and other interested parties Promotional relationships with businesses Johnnie Athletes branded merchandise sold through our website Memberships that involve a recurring pledge and include various perks and benefits depending on the membership level-These memberships can be sport specific

Selecting a Membership in Johnnie Athletes provides "undifferentiated" funds for us to use in support of the SJU Athletics mission. This support allows us to use those funds for its best impact overall rather then being allocated to an athlete in a specific sport (See Sport Specific Memberships FAQ).

Businesses and individual fans can contract with specific athletes for NIL deals. Johnnie Athletes, through its advisory board, can also make recommendations about the amount and destination for your donation to ensure its highest impact for the program. Contact us at info@johnnieathletes.com to discuss.

The Johnnie Athletes Advisory Board is comprised of non-university representatives from participating sports. This Advisory Board helps identify NIL opportunities on behalf of the sport that they represent, and advises Johnnie Athletes on how to execute on those opportunities.

A Johnnie Athletes Alliance is a unique athlete-run, community supported opportunity for all members of a team to participate in NIL. Different that Targeted NIL where support is provided to a specific athlete, typically under the recommendation of coach(es), an Alliance is designed to financially benefit all alliance member athletes. Becoming a member of an Alliance is voluntary, and players are invited to join an Alliance by other team members. In this way, the Alliance is athlete organized and run. The fan community can then become supporting members of the Alliance through a monthly pledge. All athletes participating in the Alliance then share equally in the money raised.

Yes, coaches at Saint John's know about this and support it as an ideal way to have every member of the team participate and be financially compensated for NIL.

If you want to help the coach recruit a specific player by providing that player financial support to help them come to Saint John's, Targeted NIL would be best. If that is how you would like to help, click the button below for Targeted NIL Support. If you have someone playing on the team who you'd like to help, along with everyone else on the team, supporting an Alliance would be the best option. Select the button below for Alliance Support to sign-up.

Any athlete can start or join an Alliance. If one has not already been started you can contact us at Johnnie Athletes and we will get one set up and ready to receive money and for more athletes to join.

In addition to joining an Alliance, athletes must be registered through the Johnnie Exchange. Registration with Johnnie Exchange establishes a profile an account where all financial transactions with athletes take place. Athletes will receive a payout to the account they associate with their Johnnie Exchange profile. This will provide the necessary over-site and compliance with SJU NIL Policy and record the transaction for tax purposes.