CREATEStudent-Athlete NIL Readiness Program
Tykoon's Student-Athlete NIL Readiness Program gives high school student-athletes in Los Angeles early access to the tools and training they need to grow, monetize, and manage their personal brands through NIL using AI — without needing an agent or a large team. We help students enter college ready to take advantage of NIL opportunities at any school, regardless of size or status.
What is the primary issue area that your application will impact?
Youth economic advancement
In which areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit) LAUSD (select only if you have a district-wide partnership)
In what stage of innovation is this project, program, or initiative?
Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)
What is your understanding of the issue that you are seeking to address?
Through founding one of the first Black-owned NIL agencies, we saw firsthand how talented and ambitious high school athletes struggled to navigate the world of NIL. While the NCAA opened the door for athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness, it didn’t provide structure, guidance, or education on how to do so effectively.
Without access to agents or brand managers, many students are left trying to navigate branding, content, merchandise, and partnerships alone, which leads to missed opportunities or decisions that don’t serve them long-term. We’re addressing this by creating a system that empowers athletes early, giving them the tools, confidence, and experience they need to grow their personal brands and monetize their NIL, regardless of what school they go to or how big their following is.
Describe the project, program, or initiative this grant will support to address the issue.
This grant will support the launch of Tykoon AI’s 12-month high school NIL Readiness Pilot. We’ll partner with 2–3 high schools in LA to provide free access to our AI-powered platform and hands-on training. High school athletes will learn to build and manage their personal brands through in-depth workshops on content creation, merch development, brand partnerships, and NIL literacy. We’ll bring in expert partners to deliver sessions on financial literacy basics while helping each student track progress through their NIL score inside the platform. The goal: prepare LA students for NIL success before they even set foot on a college campus.
Describe how Los Angeles County will be different if your work is successful.
If we’re successful, LA high school athletes will be entering college ahead of the curve equipped with the tools, discipline, and mindset to grow their personal brands and monetize their NIL independently. This early foundation will help reduce financial pressure, prevent students from making short-sighted decisions, and open the door to creative career paths beyond sports.
Our work will establish a new norm in LA: NIL (name, image, and likeness) readiness as a core part of student-athlete development regardless of your school, background, or status.
Approximately how many people will be impacted by this project, program, or initiative?
Direct Impact: 250
Indirect Impact: 1,500