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When regulations changed to allow college athletes to earn money off of their name, image and likeness (NIL), IMG Academy alumni Michael Astorino saw an opportunity.
As a Division 3 basketball player at Wesleyan University, he didn’t have the social media following of some Division I student-athletes who could get large deals from big companies.
But he could, he knew, offer value to companies interested in working with him.
His pitch was simple.
“I was reaching out to companies and pitching myself as someone who doesn’t have the biggest following but has a really engaged community and ultimately will create higher quality content because I will dedicate more time to it,” he said.
It worked, and he had brands express interest. But, as NIL began to grow during his college tenure, Astorino saw a bigger opportunity.
Starting His Own Agency
Astorino watched as many of his former IMG Academy teammates who were playing in Division I or even in the pro leagues were trying to navigate the new world of NIL. He paired up with a friend of a friend, Nick O’Shea, a former Michigan State kicker. They were dedicated to helping student-athletes—including many of Astorino’s former IMG Academy teammates—find deals.
“My thought process was if I could help myself get deals, I could help anyone get deals,” he said. By the start of March Madness last year, the agency had helped student-athletes get more than 80 deals, according to The Athletic .
Learn more about Astorino’s agency at xtrapointsolutions.com .
How Astorino’s IMG Academy Experience Fueled His Success
Astorino first came to IMG Academy for basketball camp —and loved it so much that he decided to enroll in the boarding school program starting in his sophomore year.
“It was a leap of faith,” he said. He was hoping to find an environment to challenge himself and join other student-athletes who had a similar mindset. While he enjoyed the facilities and life on IMG Academy’s campus, it was “undoubtedly the people” that made his experience so positive.
“I have lifelong friends [from IMG Academy] that I still talk to, who are all over the country,” he said. He also checks in with his former coaches often. “The people there made the experience,” he added, “and it just happened to be at the nicest place in the world for high school.”
An Education in Time Management
He also credits IMG Academy’s emphasis on time management in helping him succeed. IMG Academy student-athletes have a block schedule where they train in their sport either in the morning or afternoon and attend classes in the other block.
They also have to work in strength and conditioning, college prep and extracurricular activities and studying.
“IMG Academy really sets the bar so high for balancing work, school, and sport that when I got to college I was able to handle running a full-time agency, being a college athlete and school,” he said, “because of the time management skills that IMG Academy taught me.”
IMG Academy Is the Leader in NIL Education
Student-athletes at IMG Academy receive education about navigating NIL as well as financial literacy through partnerships with Advance NIL and Merrill , both leaders in their respective space.
Learn more about how IMG Academy is teaching its student-athletes valuable lessons for their financial futures .
Ready to Become the Next Pioneer?
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