1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 Welcome to episode 234 of Sports Management Podcast. College sports has changed forever. NIL is here, brands are everywhere, and student athletes are now entrepreneurs whether they like it or not. But are they actually prepared? Today I’m joined by Stephen Bienko, co-founder of 42U, former dual-sport athlete and life coach. We dive into: NIL Athlete identity Branding Why passion alone won’t prepare athletes for life after sport. And much more!&amp;nbsp; SPONSOR: Listeners of the Sports Management Podcast get an exclusive 20% off on SportsPro+ with the code SMPOD20. All you need to do is head to sportspro.com/membership and start exploring today. 00:00 Intro 00:28 What 42U Is Building in the NIL Era 02:03 Transferable Skills Beyond “Hardworking Athlete” 05:16 Athlete Identity &amp;amp; Overthinking Performance 08:45 NIL Should Have Existed Years Ago 10:35 Soft Skills vs Hard Skills in the AI Era 12:18 Why Identity Impacts Performance 14:21 Why Athletes Are Underprepared for NIL 17:37 Why Most NIL Partnerships Fail 20:33 Brand First, Deals Second 23:41 The Power of Athlete IP &amp;amp; Social Media 29:31 The Future of NIL and High School Athletes 32:59 Putting “Butts in Seats” Through Athlete Brands 39:44 The Decathlete Mindset in Business 49:18 Why Now Is the Best Time to Enter Sports 55:00 Outro Follow Sports Management Podcast on social media Instagram Twitter LinkedIn YouTube www.sportsmanagementpodcast.com &amp;nbsp; Sports Management Podcast http://sportsmanagementpodcast.libsyn.com/website <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/40174490/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/198782705