On Tuesday, March 4, the Hofstra University men’s lacrosse team announced they had signed a full-team Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal with The Athlete Amplifiers.
The deal specifies that all 46 members of the team will be given $500 in a Charles Schwab Corporation investment account. The NIL agreement intends to teach the team about financial literacy for after they graduate.
“From our oldest player to our youngest player, they are all getting the same deal,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney in a statement. “This is a team. If there’s an NIL opportunity, we’re going to do it as a team.”
Joseph Rinaldi played football for Hofstra, graduated in 1981 and now works as a financial executive. Rinaldi funded the team’s deal as a part of The Athlete Amplifier as a way of giving back to the current athletes at his alma mater.
“We are honored to have entered into this groundbreaking team NIL deal with the Hofstra Men’s Lacrosse Program,” Rinaldi said in a statement. “Through this program, we hope to not only support team recruiting and retention, but to also provide the opportunity for these student-athletes to grow in financial literacy, obtain meaningful real-world money management/investment experience, have access to internship opportunities that earn University credits and that will assist them in achieving success in life beyond Hofstra and the lacrosse field.”
Part of the deal includes a financial competition. Each player receives $500 up front, and the player who has the most money in their account at the end of the year will receive an additional $500.
“I think it’s really important we do this as a team,” Tierney said. “How many students think about their retirement while they are in college? Probably not many. Now we just got 46 of them too.”
The Athlete Amplifier offers different NIL deal packages. The goal of the one signed by Hofstra was to get students to think about their financial future. To keep the money in their account, players will have to meet some requirements.
According to Tierney, players must use this as an opportunity to demonstrate they’ve learned about a lot of different aspects of personal finance including the stock market, different kinds of investments and more. They will be required to write a few reports on their account demonstrating they understand what’s happening.
“What an incredible opportunity for myself and our entire team,” said redshirt junior Blake Cooling in a statement. “To have The Athlete Amplifier and Mr. Rinaldi so invested in us as people and in our successes after Hofstra is special. We can’t thank everyone enough who made this possible, and I speak for every single student-athlete on this team when I say that this opportunity is a difference maker and one that we are eternally grateful for.”
Since the deal was announced on Tuesday, March 4, national media including The Lacrosse Network and USA Lacrosse Magazine have covered the story.
