The Players’ Lounge has made a name for itself as an NIL-focused platform built to empower relationships between current and former college athletes and their respective fanbases.
“Since launching in early 2022, we’ve learned valuable lessons as we’ve had to pivot to account for the ever-changing NIL landscape. We’re excited to incorporate that knowledge into our business model and platform going forward to ensure we provide unforgettable experiences to some of the biggest fan bases in all of sports,” Keith Marshall, Co-CEO of The Players’ Lounge, shared in a press release. “Our updated platform provides the same value proposition to our fans but will offer a more streamlined experience to consume content, engage with our community of athletes and display their fandom.”
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As part of the streamlined experience, the website will now allow fans to read articles, engage in videos, attend live streams, play in the message boards, interact with student-athletes all in one spot, and then earn points as they do that. Those points can be redeemed for priority access to different things.
“We feel like there’s nothing like it on the market and it will really help set us apart for what we’re trying to create in terms of the ecosystem for student athletes,” Marshall told The NIL Deal. “Obviously, in order to take that to market, we’ve had to expand our team and bring on some capabilities.”
John Brenkus is among those The Players’ Lounge recently partnered with, as his experiences, which includes being the host of “Sport Science” on ESPN, is viewed as a hand in glove fit with the company.
“From a production standpoint, understanding the media business and what it takes to drive eyeballs and then how do you package that content and sell it? That’s his expertise,” Marshall explained. “He knows what he’s doing.”
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Over the last year, The Players’ Lounge shifted their primary focus towards content as opposed to Web3 due to market trends, and because of their heavy focus on content, they had to go through an approval process through the CLC to get access to use logos and marks, which Marshall deemed as a “long process.”
“Part of the reason why is not just because of us, but it’s obviously, you know, the entire ecosystem is trying to understand NIL, what the implications are going to be for businesses, for student athletes, for universities, really everybody involved,” Marshall said. “So we’re a poor part of that, and we’re learning alongside all those other parties.”
