A Revenue + Recruiting Partnership Proposal for 3 Strand Sports & Entertainment
Athletes are
billboards.
We make them
brands.
Ambassador builds the story, product, storefront, production, fulfillment, and reporting. 3 Strand gets new revenue, a stronger athlete pitch, and none of the operational drag.
What 3 Strand Gets
A merch partner that helps you sign athletes, create revenue, and stay lean.
01 — New Revenue
A merch vertical without a merch department.
ABA handles concept to reconciliation. 3 Strand gets revenue without headcount, inventory, or ops drag.
02 — Better Athlete Pitch
Offer more than another sponsorship check.
Give athletes an owned brand, owned customer data, and a harder fact in the room: not just followers, but proven buyers.
03 — Better Athlete Economics
Make the athlete’s upside bigger.
Sell-through beats one post, one check. The buyer file compounds.
04 — Low-Risk Start
Pilot first.
One athlete. One drop. No retainer. ABA carries the production risk.
$0
Median NIL earnings per athlete in 2024.
Most NIL is still transaction income, not brand building.
That is the opening: turn attention into customers, revenue, and an asset the athlete keeps.
Source: Opendorse NIL Marketplace Report, 2024
The Market Gap
From the top of NIL to the middle of the roster,
the system still builds someone else’s brand.
Top Of Market
Arch Manning
Highest-Paid NIL Athlete · College Football
Even at the top of NIL, the athlete is still moving someone else’s product. The attention is theirs. The asset is not.
0
Owned customer records
Top of market. Same ending: no retained asset.
Middle Of Market
Pryce Sandfort
Nebraska’s Single-Season 3-Point Record Holder
If this is the outcome for a proven player, the problem is structural. One campaign. One check. Back to zero.
0
Owned customer records
Different tier. Same ending: no audience, no compounding value.
The Current Model
Other agencies have you sell water heaters.
Or play one-on-one against one.
Or play one-on-one against one.
With everybody else, you’re selling water heaters.
With us, you are the water heater.
A real Pryce Sandfort NIL ad.
01
What The Athlete Keeps
Revenue now.
Customers for later.
The post disappears.
The customer does not.
A merch drop does not end with the post. It leaves a buyer file the athlete can carry into the next season, the next school, or the pros.
- Name, email, size, shipping data, purchase history
- Owned by the athlete, not the sponsor or platform
- Reusable on the next drop
0
Emmett Johnson — Proven Buyers Captured From Merch Drops
- Segment and reactivate
- Take it to the pros
- Future brand asks get stronger with proven buyers, not just followers
02
Agency Economics
Better for the athlete.
Additive for 3 Strand.
Typical NIL Deal
$500
Median one-off deal — 2024
10–15%
Commission on a small check
48 hrs
Attention window before the moment is gone
0
Owned customer records after the campaign
ABA + 3 Strand Merch Drop
$13,800
Average gross per 7-day WBC drop
40–60%
Gross margin after COGS
Compounds
Customer list grows every drop
Additive
Commissionable revenue without inventory risk on your side
Typical 7-day drop: ~$13.8K gross → ~$6.9K after COGS. The athlete gets paid. The customer file stays.
This already works.
We’ve already built the model.
$0
3-Day Gross · Zero Paid Ads
Leslie Jordan
Pandemic catchphrase became the merch line.
$0
72-Hour Gross
Will Smith — Bel-Air Athletics
Strategy, design, manufacturing, distribution.
$0
Lifetime · Since 2020
DJ D-Nice
The drop that started the agency.
$306K
Lifetime · Earned Media Only
Lumpia Surf Team
$10K → $30K → $73K → $188K.
$147K
18 Months · Nebraska
We’re Back Co.
8.9M earned views. Active NIL drops every season.
Combined top-3 gross: $0 · Nebraska is the newest proof point, not the first.
A successful drop does two jobs at once:
revenue now, audience for later.
revenue now, audience for later.
03
Execution Advantage
We don’t just print product.
We move while the moment is hot.
0
Views — Last 90 Days
86% from non-followers.
804K
Accounts Reached
Peak: 7.2M in 30 days.
17.8K
Social Followers
All organic.
0
Email — Proven Buyers
Not a newsletter. A customer database.
Why This Matters
The best merch partners do not wait for permission.
We built the Emmett Heisman campaign ourselves the night of the game and had it live by Sunday morning.
“I have an Emmett for H21SMAN shirt sitting on my desk. You give me one and it counts as Husker gear.”
Matt Rhule — Head Coach, Nebraska Football
Press conference · On the Emmett Johnson × We’re Back Co. tee
04
Best Proof
One weekend showed the model:
speed, story, revenue, retained audience.
- $13.6K in the 14-day H21SMAN window
- $54K Emmett season total
- Coach-endorsed, national pickup
- Live by Sunday morning
Sat 10pm
Game ends
232 yards, 3 TDs vs UCLA
Sat 11pm
Design starts
Shirt designed, H21SMAN.COM purchased
Sun 8am
Store is live
In market before breakfast
Monday
Nebraska responds
Ours was already canonical
Earned Media — Zero Paid Distribution
ESPN CFB. Fox Sports. Field Rush. Big Ten Network.
All organic. We didn’t pitch it. The product and the story were enough.
05
Proof Across Athlete Types
Not just one superstar.
A system that works across stories, sports, and tiers.
Drop 01 · Football
Emmett Johnson
Breakout back. We turned a Saturday night into the merch brand of the season.
Coach-Endorsed
Drop 02 · Basketball
Sam Hoiberg
Walk-on. Coach’s son. Fan-favorite identity. The story sold.
Story > Star Power
Drop 03 · Basketball
Pryce Sandfort
Transfer shooter. A sharp concept can create intrigue before the box score catches up.
MOU Executed
Drop 04 · Football Recruit
Trae Taylor
Blue-chip recruit. The merch story can start before college production does.
Live Soon
06
Why We Can Execute This
Relationship access, brand strategy, and operations
already sit under one roof.
Mark David
Founder — E-Commerce, Operations, Brand Systems
- Built drops for Will Smith, DJ D-Nice, and Bel-Air Athletics
- Runs the system from concept to cash reconciliation
- Owns in-house production and storefront ops
Derek Porter
Director of Athlete Relations
- 11 years in grassroots basketball — AAU and high school coaching
- Built trusted relationships with athletes, families, and recruiting programs before most had an agent
- BA in English from UNO, M.Ed. from Creighton
- Helps young athletes turn personality and story into a marketable identity earlier than anyone else in the room
Lea Sindija
Director of Brand Partnerships
- 15 years in talent and brand strategy
- Relationships: J. Cole, Jaden Smith, Anderson .Paak
- Brand work: Nike, Billabong, Samsung
07
How It Works
Low lift for 3 Strand.
ABA runs the full stack.
3 Strand + Athlete
Pick the athlete and the angle
Give one round of creative feedback
Wear it, post it, and show up during the drop
Ambassador Delivers
Research + narrative
Design + creative
In-house manufacturing (DTG/DTF)
Storefront build + management
Fulfillment and shipping
Customer service
Owned customer data — athlete keeps it
Revenue reports + payout within 14 days
08
Why This Gets Approved
New revenue. Better recruiting.
No new department.
01 — Revenue
New revenue. No merch department.
ABA is the operator. 3 Strand gets the vertical.
New revenue. No new department.
02 — Recruiting
A better line in the room.
Help athletes build something they actually keep.
Better athlete upside. Stronger agency pitch.
03 — Retention
The relationship can outlive the season.
Customer data survives transfers and the pros.
The relationship can outlive the season.
04 — Approval
Low lift. Clean terms. Easy pilot.
One athlete. One drop. Real data before a longer commitment.
Easy to try. Easy to scale.
09
The Proposal
Pilot First
One athlete. One drop.
Real data before any long-term commitment.
Real data before any long-term commitment.
Pick one 3 Strand athlete with a clear story.
ABA handles concept through customer service.
The athlete gets 30% of net revenue after direct costs.
No upfront cost. No inventory obligation. No financial risk.
Baseline ask: wear it, be proud of it, and show up for the drop.
The more the athlete leans in, the better it performs. It is commerce wrapped in content.
Let’s Run the Pilot →
Long-Term Structure
Founding Partner Rate: $7,500/mo + 30% Contribution Profit (Standard: $8,000/mo)
Retainer Covers
$7,500/mo
- Strategy, creative, execution
- Product, storefront, fulfillment, support
- Priority scheduling, reporting, payouts
ABA Economics Per Drop
30%
Contribution Profit
- Not gross sales — contribution profit
- Calculated after direct costs
- Add-ons stay separate unless approved
Term + Rate Note
6 mo.
- 6-month minimum, renewable
- Standard rate: $8,000/mo
- Founding partner: $7,500/mo first term
Pilot net revenue: gross sales less direct product costs, shipping, processing, discounts, refunds, chargebacks, fraud, and approved paid media. Long-term contribution profit: same logic, with overhead outside the split unless approved.
The Ask
Pick one athlete and let’s build the pilot.
Turbo Richard — Indiana RB. The biggest NIL story waiting to happen. The worst program in college football history just became the defending national champions. He’s going to be part of the biggest story in the sport next season.
Week 1
Talk to Turbo.
Find the story.
Find the story.
Week 2
Concept + design.
Athlete approves.
Athlete approves.
Week 3
Store + production.
All handled in-house.
All handled in-house.
Week 4
Drop goes live.
Sales and reporting begin.
Sales and reporting begin.
$3.8M in gross revenue · 6 years in operation · In-house production from concept to doorstep
Not a sponsorship package. A machine that turns attention into customers.