The passing of The Fair Pay to Play Act last year in California
was a turning point in the push for college-athlete
compensation.
Now, similar laws have passed in over 30 states, allowing
student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness.
Young entrepreneurs Jared Eummer and Ashton Keys wanted to make
that process as easy as possible, which is why they developed
Athlytic, an app that specializes in connecting student-athletes
with brands.
“The entire industry, as far as I’m concerned, is of the belief
that it’s time to pay the players,” Eummer said. “It’s been tens of
years where players were taken advantage of. Their jerseys were
being sold. Their autographs were being sold. They weren’t able to
reap any benefits of them playing on the collegiate level. We are
here to be part of the change, and support and empower
athletes.”
Athlytic showcases different brands and deals that are tailored
to the interests of that particular athlete, making it easier for
the players to monetize their name and likeness.
“It's essentially an agent in your pocket, a representative in
your pocket that’s going to showcase different [companies] that are
interested in you, your persona, your APIs on your social-media
platforms that showcase who you are, what you like to do, what
you’re posting about and what aligns specifically with brands,"
Eummer said.
”We are a fully integrated marketplace for athletes and brands
to intersect with one another.”
Eummer and Keys had the opportunity to present Athlytic to the
MTN DEW Real Change Opportunity Fund. Founded in June 2020, this is
a million-dollar fund to help Black entrepreneurs who are current
students or recent alumni from Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs) connect with PepsiCo partnerships to turn
ideas into ventures.
Athlytic was named a finalist for the fund, receiving $42,000
for their top-four finish. In addition to money, they received
something that’s just as valuable.
“We received a lot of championing and mentorship from different
judges and different representatives from MTN DEW," Eummer said.
"It’s exciting, and we still won (in that respect)."
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During the NCAA Tournament, Eummer and Keys kicked off their
promotion of Athlytic and got people talking with a billboard in
Indianapolis.
#NotNCAAProperty was used by many athletes leading up to the
tournament, so using it to promote the brand and help establish the
app’s presence at the March Madness “bubble” was very strategic and
very successful.
“It was great feedback,” Eummer shared. “We were looking to be
disruptive. We were looking to make a splash immediately. We were
looking to gain impressions. We were looking to get the attention
of not only brands and players but athletic administrators. We
wanted them to know that we were here to be an ally.
"We’re not trying to take anything out of anyone’s pockets. We
know they run a multi-million-dollar industry for marketing and TV
rights with the different tournaments throughout the year. We’re
just looking to get players their fair share.”
The Athlytic app is currently in the beta phase and will launch
officially on July 1.