Latest / The Standard / Former D1 Athlete — What Every Student-Athlete Needs to Know About NIL, Taxes, and Legal Protection Before It's Too Late | Ep. 70 Aaron Ray: J.D., LLM

Transcript

Former D1 Athlete — What Every Student-Athlete Needs to Know About NIL, Taxes, and Legal Protection Before It's Too Late | Ep. 70 Aaron Ray: J.D., LLM · The Standard

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Standard Podcast team, where we raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and call out the lies or misconceptions that nobody else will.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't motivation, this is a movement.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Thomas Rowe with my uh co-host and co-founder Aaron Charles, and today we're sitting down with Aaron Ray.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: A Ray, founder and two percent founder of 2% consulting, NIL consultant, and former D1 athlete with a legal and tax background focused on athlete protection, compliance, and long-term NIL strategy.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron Story is one of athletic experience, advanced education, and dedication service to protecting athletes in an evolving landscape of NIL.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: With a JD and NLL.m in taxation and six years in Big Four and M-tier public accounting, Aaron brings the Technical Foundation and Corporate MA and state and local tax to a complex world of NIL.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: What makes Aaron's perspective so valuable is the combination of personal athletic experience and professional expertise.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: After volunteering in university athletic departments and compliance and scholarships, he saw firsthand the gaps in athlete support and shifted his work towards NIL education and protection.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: Today, Aaron advises student athletes, universities, collectives, and service providers while developing tools and programming that makes the NIL more transparent and manageable.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: His work includes upcoming NIL educational webinar series with us, including one specifically focused on NIL taxation and the comprehensive NIL CRM built to track income, monitor compliance, estimate taxes, and evaluate market dynamics for roster construction.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron serves on a university-led NIL think tank and is currently outlining a publication of how institutions may navigate a future where student athletes are classified as employees, an area that aligns with his work in employment law and ongoing bar preparation.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: As someone who goes by the Law Father on social media, Aaron represents a new generation of professionals who understand that the NIL area era requires sophisticated legal, tax compliance expertise to protect athletes and empower universities to operate confidently.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: His mission is clear: building a system, education, and infrastructure that protect athletes while helping institutions navigate the unpredictable, unprecedented landscape with clarity and confidence.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: We're diving into the truth behind what it really takes to build the identity, discipline, and legacy in sports and in life.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get into it.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron, thanks so much for joining us.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: You're not just a guest, you're a friend.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron and I have been talking to you for some time.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: We've already done one or two webinars, so we're really excited to have you on the podcast.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for carving out time today.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, Thomas, Aaron, I definitely appreciate that intro.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: Thomas, it was great.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: I I love, you know, tuning in with you guys.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_02: You guys are doing great things in this space.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I'm just glad to be a part of it.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad that you guys are giving me the opportunity to be here.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so again, Thomas, thank you for the intro.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: It was it was great.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, I'm excited.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: I I love talking NIL, I love sports, you know, I have a passion for it.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: It's my consideration.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: I don't have the time for that.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: And so again, mom.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: We are back in business.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron, let's start here.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: You're the founder of 2% consulting, a former Division I athlete with a JD and LM.m and taxation focused on athlete protection and NIL strategy.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: What does raising the standard mean to you and the work you're doing to protect athletes in the NIL space?
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's a great question, Thomas.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, standard, like what well, like what does standard mean, right?
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: I I think standard as you know, the bar, right?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: What is your expectation?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: What are you, you know, what have you, you know, what are you expecting?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: And so when we're raising the bar, we're raising our expectation.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: I I think, excuse me, you know, we're raising the expectation.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, whatever we we we want out of our athletes, you know, as an athlete, like what is your expectation, right?
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: You want to, you know, be a great athlete, right?
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_02: You want to be consistent, you want to show up for practice, and you want to get better.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: Well, when you raise that bar, when you're raising the expectation, when you're raising the standard, you're raising your bar of play.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: You're raising your expectation, you're raising what you as an individual expect from yourself in hopes to get better.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, in this space, I think our goal, at least my goal to help out athletes and what I think all athletes' goals should be is to A, have a high standard, have a high standard for yourself, which means have a high expectation for yourself.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_02: But once you continuously reach that expectation and you continuously reach, you know, that that bar, that standard that you set for yourself, continuously raising that standard.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: You know, the status quo, right?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: You're continuously growing, you're continuously getting better each and every season.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_02: So raising that bar.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: You nailed the spot on it.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: And what do you think is the biggest lie that you feel the culture of the sports industry has sold athletes about NIL, financial planning, and what is the what this new landscape actually means for their protection and long-term success?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: Well, A, I think the biggest lie um that's being told, I think it's just kind of an incomplete, an incomplete topic, an incomplete comment.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas we say, you know, just work hard.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: You work hard, you're gonna achieve your dreams, if you work hard, you're gonna make all this NIL, you know, income if you work hard.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that that's part of it, yes, is working hard.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: But I think the other that we failed to mention is, you know, as we discussed earlier in our, you know, in our thing that we did uh with the webinar, is there's other things that come with that.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_02: There's, you know, your the character aspect of it, right?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_02: You can work hard and be the hardest working athlete out there, but if you don't have the character to back it up, that is what coaches are are are judging some of these athletes on now is not just your performance on the field, but what is your character?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: What else are you doing?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what kind of person you are, not just your performance.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: No doubt.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: So with that being said, you saw gaps in athlete support firsthand while volunteering in university athletics, which led you to shift towards NIL education.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: What did you witness that convince you that athletes need better legal tax and compliance support?
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I felt that these athletes were being taken advantage of.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I you know, I said I seen it firsthand.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: I seen some of these agency contracts, and and you know, that these athletes that these athletes are super excited, right?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: They're 17, 18-year-old kids and they want to sign these deals.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, when an athlete, I mean, when some sort of agent comes up to you and you know, wanting to sign you, of course, you know, that's a badge of honor.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so they're just signing, but a lot of times they're signing a lot of their rights away.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: And so I seen that, I was like, these kids are being taken advantage of.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Why?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Because there's more money being put into the system.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so I, you know, with with I'd say my unique background, I just wanted to help and step in and see where I can bridge that gap.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron, are you still okay?
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think I think we're okay.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: With that being, we're gonna go.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna push you over to Aaron for identity and mission.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron, take it away.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, great.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron, so great to have you on with us today.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to share with our audience, I want them to get to know A-Ray, Aaron, beyond all the accolades that Thomas shared at the top of the show.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Who who is Aaron?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, I'm I love sports, right?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: And so I, you know, I'm a I'm passionate about sports, you know, but I'm I also consider myself a family man, right?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: I have two kids, you know, I have a wife.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: And so, as, and you know, funny enough, I got away from sports for so long.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I, you know, being a former athlete, I wanted to change my identity.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: And once I I graduated undergrad and left track and field, I was like, I'm I'm done with athletes, I'm done with sports.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I want to be seen as Aaron the accountant or Aaron the attorney or Aaron the law student or Aaron the son.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_02: And it wasn't till about four or five years into my career, you know, which I was away from athletics and sports, where I'm like, wow, I'm missing a part of me.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: I'm missing that.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so I always say an athlete is gonna be part of me.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm always, you know, athlete Aaron, you know, first.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, I think for me is, you know, you know, I'm a person who, you know, A, I like to work hard, and yes, I'm, you know, I'm advocating and trying, you know, my best to be in this sports space and advocate for athletes because yes, I do have a passion for it, but also, you know, I enjoy other things.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: Again, I say I'm a family man, you know, and and funny enough, I am a tax man now.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: So as much as I try to get away from that, you know, in my in my former life and you know, being in public accounting, I realized that you know, tax is so valuable.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_02: So yes, I'm a tax man as well.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: The tax man is probably the one who wanted to probably not tell people, but hey, what do I know?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's the one people are like, what?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Which we need to understand our taxes, which is can be very complex.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: It it can be, it can be.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, unfortunately, when I got away from the tax realm, I'm like, wow, you know, taxes needed more than ever.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I realize I'm trying to step into that space even more now.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, with all the work that you're doing, I I which we love, obviously, we work with you closely.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: What does legacy beyond what you're what does legacy beyond just building a success successful consulting practice mean to you?
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what do you really want to do with the work that you're doing?
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: What's your legacy?
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: What's the impact you want to leave?
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, when I think about Lelech, uh when I think about that word, it I define it as impact.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what what impact am I having?
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I I think I I think a good analogy is the NFL and and the NFL is probably one of the most prestigious words in the NFL.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: And it has nothing to do with the play on the field.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_02: It has everything to do with your impact that you're, you know, that you're having within your community, um, within the people around you.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: And that is what I want to do.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: That is what I want to leave.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: I went to law school specifically to advocate for athletes.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so being the background that I do have, I want to leave an impact.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_02: I want to leave the sports world better than what I found it.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: You know, better.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, sports gave me everything.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I think it's my job and my duty to give back where I can and have that impact where I can.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, I'm stepping into this space, just really trying to give back.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want to be a gatekeeper of knowledge and information.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: I just want to, you know, give back and be of service, leave that impact.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, in five, 10, 15 years, you know, when NIL is this big, you know, this fully elaborate thing with all the, you know, with all these guardrails and everything, I want to say that I helped build that structure and or I helped, you know, student athletes move within this, within this landscape.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: And with that, what have you seen in your experience so far that separates athletes and institutions who are successfully navigating the NIL landscape from those who get caught up in maybe compliance issues, tax issues, financial mistakes?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: I think the biggest thing is education and the education gap.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like student athletes, they they're trying to figure it out, just like everyone else, the athletic departments, the compliance officers, the academic advisors at schools.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_02: Everyone is just trying to figure it out.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_02: No one really knows kind of what's happening.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um they're just trying to stay up to date as best they can while still trying to operate an athletic department, while still trying to perform, you know, you know, within their sport.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so a lot of times they just don't have the bandwidth to then go out and research and you know, hours worth of education and knowledge.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_02: And so to me, that's where I see the biggest gap in where a lot of people are failing, or where, you know, you have a large tax bill come April time, or you're ineligible at the end of the season, or you're in the transfer portal and you don't lost your scholarship from from the former school because there's just a lack of education.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_02: And you don't know what you don't know.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_02: You don't know what questions to ask because you're it's it's new.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: Everything is new.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, most 17, 18-year-olds, they don't know about 1099s.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they you know, they're so used to being their taxes taken out of their paychecks that they don't understand that they have to actually with their own taxes, right?
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: And so you you get we get caught in the the big dollar signs of NIL and all these deals happening, but we don't know the education behind it.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_02: So there's an educational gap.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's the biggest issue that we're seeing.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you highlight a great point.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's highly complex.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, not having enough information to make great decisions is definitely a big piece of that.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, with that, what's one truth you wish every athlete, parent, coach, or athletic administrator understood about NIL taxes and compliance that most are not hearing?
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, I think the openness and and being able to adapt, you know, not every deal is gonna be the same, you know, not every situation is gonna be the same.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so you have to be able, you have to be open, you have to adapt.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: You you have to understand that ah, what what that deal was, that may not be the next deal.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, I may not like this next deal, but or I may not like the terms of this next deal deal, but I can I can negotiate it, right?
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_02: I have to be able to adapt.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_02: What worked in in a school that I went to in Florida might not work and it might not be the same kind of deal, the same kind of stuff that's happening in a school in in California.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: So if I if I enter in the transfer portal and I'm going to this next school in California, I'm gonna have to adapt.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna have to adapt in as to how they structure their NILs, you know, the and their NIL deals, you know, kind of how that coach operates, how that school operates, how that system operates, how that state operates.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: Everything is gonna be different.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: So you have to be flexible, you have to be able to adapt.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_02: And if not, you know, it can it can really lead to some you know unfortunate situations, some unfortunate consequences.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a really great point.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like nothing's the same because you're dealing with states, different state laws, tax codes, all the things.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, I think it's like it's not that we your one deal in Tennessee doesn't mean the same thing as if you were to get a very similar deal, let's say, in California, just based on one example, taxes.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um exactly.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_02: And and even going further with that is you have state, you you have the federal laws and federal legislation, you have state legislation that's continuously happening.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, what what you know what is good, you know, this month, that whole thing, that whole law, that whole rule may change in two months, and you have to be able to adapt, you have to be flexible, and you have to be open and willing to make that change because if if if not, then you could be stuck.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: So that it's that it's it's ever changing.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: There's so much you know happening, and you have to be adaptable.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a really great point.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: With that, I'm gonna turn it back over to Thomas.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Aaron.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, let's get into NIL strategy and compliance.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: You're developing comprehensive NIL CRM to track income, monitor compliance, estimate taxes, and evaluate market dynamics.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: With your experience in the big four accounting and legal expertise, what are the biggest NIL mistakes you see athletes and institutions making right now?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, I think a big thing is not understanding the contract, not understanding your contract terms, right?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: We we what we care about, what a lot of people care about is what does that dollar sign is?
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_02: You know, is it a million dollars?
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_02: Is that is it half a million?
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_02: Is it 20,000?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_02: But are we reading the fine point?
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_02: Are we reading the blueprint?
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: Do we understand the compensation structure?
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_02: Do we understand when we're getting paid, how we're getting paid, the deliverables, what can and can't we do?
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: What are the clauses in there?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: I think those very key things that we're missing or that athletes or you know are are failing to understand.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, some athletes hey don't I understand that if you enter in the transfer portal based on your you know your contract with your former school, you just entering the transfer portal, you may lose out on that scholarship or the NIL money that you signed for.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: And if you don't understand that, you're thinking, oh, I'm just gonna enter in the transfer portal.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: If it doesn't work out, I'll come back to my former school.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_02: Now you may not have a school to come back to.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: So I think the I think the biggest thing really is just clarity and understanding of the contract.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_02: You have to understand the contract.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_02: I think another thing, another key point is having the team around you that you trust, like a trusted team, a trusted, it can be the one advisor, it can be your family, it can be whoever it is that is kind of to kind of help you, you know, guide you through this space.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_02: Hoping and understanding that they have to be, they have to know this space as well and know kind of what to do, who to you know, how to operate in this space, who to contact in this space.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think your support system, your surrounding support system is, you know, can also be the the key factor is if you're gonna succeed in this space or not, because if you have people who you know don't have your best interest in mind or they don't understand what's happening, or they in fact don't understand a contract, the person that's being affected the most is the athlete.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_02: They're the ones that's gonna lose out on that eligibility.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: So understanding the contract terms yourself as an athlete and having the people around you who understand and know how to you know move within this space.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: With that, you have an upcoming NIL education webinar series, including one specifically on NIL taxation.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I know it's an obvious question, but why is the tax piece so critical?
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: And what do athletes need to understand about the financial implications of their NIL and earnings?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I think we should be, I think you should be thinking about not just I think you should be thinking about taxes when you're in in high school before you sign your first you know deal, your first scholarship deal.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: Why?
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: Well, because of state taxes, right?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: Your your NIL income could go a lot further in a state like Florida than it can in California.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: Well, why?
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: Well, California is taxing you at 13.3%.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas Florida, you know, you you know, Florida is a tax-free, you know, tax-free, you know, state.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, in terms of income, right?
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so that first, you know, that first deal that you're signing, that first scholarship, right, that can already affect your taxes right then and there.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so we want to be able to understand that right before you're signing a deal, you want to understand what do you want within NIL?
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_02: Do you want your NIL funds to go is you know a long way?
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: If that's the case, then maybe thinking about what state you know you're going to play in, that can, you know, that matters.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_02: I think a big thing that matters that we don't think about is is you know, how NIL can affect your parents' taxes.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_02: Because NIL can affect the student athlete's dependency status.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, if it's affecting your dependency status, that's effectively affecting your parents' fundamental.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Filing status and what how they're filing.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_02: They they may not be able to claim you as a dependent.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: So which will, you know, which might raise their taxes, which because they can't use that child, you know, that child deduction anymore.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: So NIL not only affects just the student athlete, but it can affect their family, their parents' taxes.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: It can affect your, you know, your grant status if you're getting a Pell Grant or some sort or some sort of FASFA.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: It can affect that as well.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's these things that we don't think about when we're you know signing these deals and and and how taxes can affect what you're doing next, but it's going to have an effect from day one, from you when your first your first deal until you're graduating, that NIL is going to affect.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right on.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get into if you knew then what you know now.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: And if you could sit down with yourself as a D1 athlete before you understood the legal and tax complexities that would become central to your career, what would you tell that version of Aaron about preparing for this type of work?
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: It's a good question.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_02: I would say, I would say trust your work.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_02: And what I mean by that, and not trust the and not trust the process like you know, like the Sixers, but trust your work.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: Trust the, you know, trust again, I had to lean on and trust my passion, that my passion will push me through here.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: I have to lean and trust on, you know, on my legal background, right?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_02: Of me going to law school, of me and my accounting background, me of my LLM background.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_02: I have to trust that.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, so when I'm talking to either students or, you know, or school or giving advice or giving education, I have to trust that I know what I'm talking about, but I have to trust my work.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_02: If I don't trust my work, then I'm up here and I'm rambling, I'm doing all this, you know, all this stuff.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: It goes the same thing with, you know, with you know, with your field of play.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: Trust your work, trust the practice that you've done over and over and over.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_02: If you shot that same jump shot, you know, 2,000 times over the summer, well, when the season starts, trust that.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: Trust that you put in the work to you know allow you to succeed and have the confidence in your next journey.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_02: I would say trust your work.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I do trust my work because there's been times where I've lacked confidence where I'm like, I don't know if I can do it.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: But I go back and it's like, well, I spent hours and hours and hours doing this research.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: I spent years and years and years in school or you know, within my career that it set me up to be able to thrive in this space.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_02: I have to trust that.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say trust your work.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: And what about the current student athletes who are navigating NIL opportunities, but may not understand the comp the compliant the compliance of tax implications.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: What do they need to do to protect themselves?
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: Ask questions.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_02: You know, don't sit on the sidelines.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you you you want to be involved, you want to know.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_02: The more you know, the better you can be, right?
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_02: Just as an athlete, the more you know the rules of the game, you understand better how to play it.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_02: And so if you're coming in and you want to understand compliance, you want to understand how to really, really maximize your NIL value.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: If you want to stay out of trouble and uh, you know, not get those deals, you know, those NIL deals uh denied and stay eligible, understand the rules, get educated, right?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_02: And that will help you, you know, move on through this this space.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's a kick ass, Aaron.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Now let's send it back over to Aaron for the rapid fire round.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron, take it away.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, this section's fun.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna start a sentence and you're gonna finish it.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, all right, discipline equals.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_02: Discipline, oh, discipline.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_02: I for me, discipline equals structure, it equals consistency.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love it.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Leadership equals, leadership, adaptability, compliance equals.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, compliance equals, oh, that's a good one.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_02: Compliance equals I say I'm on legacy.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Got it.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: And what about legacy?
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: What does legacy equal?
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: Impact.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: What is one thing you would never compromise on?
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: One thing I would never compromise on, the value of hard work.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, I love that.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: And if you could put a message on a billboard for this generation of athletes, what would your message to this generat generation of athletes be?
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_02: My message on a billboard.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_02: Preparation builds confidence.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, that's a good one.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: With that, it's back to you, T-Row.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: That was kick-ass stuff, Aaron.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: Before we wrap up, is there something we didn't touch on today that you feel athletes, parents, and institutions need to hear about NIL strategy, compliance and protection?
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, the one thing I would say that maybe we didn't touch on and that I always like to kind of share is as an athlete, especially as a young athlete, in this in this landscape, especially in this landscape, is being accountable and self-reflection.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_02: You know, right?
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_02: Like don't be afraid to make mistakes, but learn from those mistakes.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_02: Hold yourself accountable because that's how you're gonna grow.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_02: And that A is how you build the character, but also that's what coaches see.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_02: That's what these schools are seeing.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_02: And now a lot of them are judging, you know, how much money they're gonna give these certain athletes.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of it is based on their character.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_02: It's based on, okay, are can they hold themselves accountable?
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_02: I told this athlete, you know, they they have to work harder.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_02: Are they gonna look then at themselves, you know, and come back the following week and put in extra work?
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think you know, having young athletes understand accountability and self-reflection, especially in this today and age, is very important.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: You went from the rapid fire round.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Now you're gonna I'm gonna put you in the hot seat.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Art imitating life, one of my favorite questions for our guests.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: What are the top three sports movies according to Aaron?
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_02: Ooh, top three sporting movies.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_02: I like this one.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: I love my sports movies.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_02: Blue chips.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: Great movie.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_02: Coach Carter, Samuel Jackson, gotta love it, gotta love it.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I'll say I remember I seen this.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of films that I really love, but I remember seeing this film as a kid.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_02: I was in either fourth or fifth grade with my entire football team.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_02: Remember the Titans.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_02: Had such an impact on me growing up.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_02: Blue chips, colour, and the Titans.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: Those are all great ones.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: Those are really good ones.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: Aaron, where can people connect with you to learn more about 2% consulting and access your NIL education resources?
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: Is there a website, your social media, or an email?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so you can find me.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_02: I talk about NIL a lot on my LinkedIn page, which is you know Aaron Ray, J D L L M.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_02: Also, I have a website which is 2%consulting.com.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_02: That's T W O percentall spelled out.com.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_02: That's where you'll find you know extra resources.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's where you also can get in contact with me.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_02: I share my services on there as well.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_02: So that's two percentconsulting.com.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_02: If you want to know just about me, you know, and kind of what I do just on a every kind of on a every day.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_02: I I talk a bit N I L, but not really.com.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_02: And my my email address is ary 1906 at gmail.com.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, thank you for showing us what it looks like to combine athletic experience with legal extra expertise to protect the next generation of athletes.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: And team, if this conversation hit you, do two things with us.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: One, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_01: An athlete navigating NIL opportunities and tax implications, a parent trying to understand compliance, an athletic administration building NIL programs, and two, connect with A-Ray on LinkedIn as well as his website, as well as his email.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have those connections or those links in the show notes.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: Team, if you need NIL guidance, compliance support, or want to understand the legal landscape, A Ray offers free consultation for student athletes and institutions.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're an athlete parent or coach ready to raise the standard, check out Aaron and myself at blueprintbluechip.com.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: We work with athletes, their families, and coaches to get them to the next level.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: And if this episode resonated with you, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: It helps us reach more athletes, parents, and leaders who need to hear this message that A Ray just shared with you.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: This is a standard podcast, and this movement only grows when we raise the standard together.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: Talent fades, the truth endures.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: Let's raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and become the standard.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: A Ray, Aaron, thank you guys so much, team.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see you next week.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.