welcome to the huddle

The quiet season is over. Fall camps are open, college rosters are set, and on August 1 a new set of federal guardrails around college sports officially took effect. If July was about preparation, August is about everything going live at once.

That includes the money. Athletes signing deals this summer are operating under rules that changed this month, with reporting requirements, revenue-share caps, and enforcement bodies that did not exist three years ago. Complicated is not the same as unmanageable. It just means the people who understand the system have a real advantage over the people who do not. This issue is about closing that gap. Welcome back.

juju johnson

We are proud to welcome Julius "JuJu" Johnson to the SteelPeak Sports family. A five-star cornerback at Long Beach Poly and a UCLA commit, JuJu chose the Bruins in May over more than 20 scholarship offers, including Miami, Oklahoma, Michigan, Oregon, and Nebraska.

What makes the rise remarkable is the timing. He missed his entire junior season with a lower-body injury. Then he went back to work, put together a dominant showing at The Opening in Dallas, and showcased his two-way ability at the Elite 11 Finals. In June, 247Sports moved him up 78 spots to No. 31 nationally and No. 2 among cornerbacks in the 2027 class. He is UCLA's first five-star commitment since 2023 and the headliner of the program's highest-ranked class in nearly a decade.

The athleticism is rare even by five-star standards. Alongside football he runs 10.34 in the 100 meters, 21.08 in the 200, and 48.41 in the 400, and high jumps 6 feet 2 inches. As a sophomore for the Jackrabbits he posted 43 tackles, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles, an interception, and a sack across 10 games, while adding eight catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns on offense.

What we're watching: JuJu's senior season with Long Beach Poly this fall, one of the most storied high school programs in the country.

the tax nobody takes out

There is a date coming that most young athletes have never heard of, and it matters more than almost anything else on the calendar: September 15.

Here is why. When you work a normal job, your employer takes taxes out of every paycheck before you ever see the money. NIL income does not work that way. It arrives as 1099 income, which means the full amount hits your account and none of it has been sent to the IRS. That feels great in the moment. It is the single most common reason athletes get blindsided in April.

The IRS does not wait until April. If you expect to owe roughly $1,000 or more, the government wants its money in four installments across the year, not one payment at the end. Those quarterly estimated payments are due in mid April, mid June, mid September, and mid January. Miss them and you can owe an underpayment penalty even if you eventually pay every dollar you owe.

The bill is bigger than you think. Self-employment income carries a self-employment tax of about 15.3 percent for Social Security and Medicare, and that sits on top of regular federal income tax. Add state income tax depending on where you live, and a meaningful share of every deal was never really yours to spend.

The mechanics are simpler than they sound. Estimated payments go in on Form 1040-ES, and they can be paid online in a few minutes. There is also a safe harbor worth knowing: pay in at least as much as your total tax from last year, and you generally avoid the underpayment penalty even if this year turns out bigger. For an athlete whose income jumped suddenly, that rule can be the difference between a manageable bill and an expensive surprise.

None of this requires you to become an accountant. It requires you to know the dates exist and to have someone in your corner who handles them before they arrive.

read before you sign

Five lines in an NIL agreement that decide more than the dollar figure does.

• Exclusivity. Does this deal block you from every other brand in the category, or just this one? A small check with broad exclusivity can cost you a bigger one later.
• Term. How long are you locked in, and does it renew automatically unless you cancel? Know the out date before you sign the start date.
• Usage rights. Where can they run your name, image, and likeness, for how long, and does that continue after the deal ends?
• Morals clause. What behavior lets them terminate, and does terminating mean you also give money back?
• Payment terms. When exactly do you get paid, what has to happen first, and who is responsible if a deliverable slips?

NIL watch

August 1 was a real deadline. The executive order signed in April, Urgent National Action to Save College Sports, called on the NCAA to overhaul its rules on transfers, eligibility, NIL, and revenue sharing by August 1, with federal grant and contract eligibility on the line for schools above $20 million in athletics revenue. The provisions tied to that date are now in effect, and the practical result is that enforcement risk sits with institutions and collectives in a way it did not last season.

Sponsor logos hit the uniform. A separate NCAA commercialization policy approved in January also took effect August 1, allowing limited commercial patches on uniforms, equipment, and apparel during regular-season and conference competition, subject to size and placement rules by sport. It does not change athlete compensation directly, but it is another signal of how quickly the commercial side of college sports is opening up.

Congress is still working. The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 would create a federal NIL right and preempt the current state-by-state patchwork, with revenue-share caps, agent regulation, and enforcement mechanisms attached. It remains a draft, and earlier attempts have stalled, so treat it as a thing to watch rather than a thing to plan around.

Why it matters to you: deals above $600 with third parties are reportable, timelines are short, and the review standard is fair market value. The athletes who stay clean are the ones with someone tracking the paperwork alongside them.

the owner's box

Last month we opened this section by telling you SteelPeak is in the business of sports, not just writing about it. This month, the follow-up question: why franchises at all?

The short answer is that a pro sports team is one of the few assets where the revenue is contracted years in advance. National media rights are negotiated in multi-year blocks, so a meaningful share of what a franchise will earn in 2030 is already on paper. That is unusual. Most businesses have to go win their revenue every quarter.

Add the fact that leagues are closed systems with a fixed number of seats at the table, and you get an asset that behaves very differently from a stock. Our sports-themed strategy currently spans four NFL clubs, six NBA clubs, three MLB clubs, two WNBA positions including Cleveland's 2028 expansion team, and the NWSL's North Carolina Courage, alongside sports technology, sports-related real estate, and media and entertainment.

equity is not cash

More athletes are being offered a piece of the business instead of a bigger check. Sometimes that is the smartest deal on the table. Sometimes it is a way to pay you less and call it an opportunity. The difference comes down to three questions almost nobody asks in the room.

What am I actually getting? Shares, options, profit interests, and revenue share are four different things with four different outcomes. Options can expire worthless. A revenue share pays even when there are no profits. Get the instrument named in writing.

What happens if the company sells? Investors ahead of you may have preferences that get paid first. In a modest sale, a small common stake can be worth nothing while the deal still counts as a success for everyone else.

Can I ever sell it? Private equity is illiquid by design. There may be no buyer, and transfer restrictions may block a sale even if you find one. Equity you cannot sell does not pay rent.

The lesson: ownership can absolutely outlast a salary, which is exactly why it deserves more scrutiny than a salary, not less. Take the equity when you understand it. Take the cash when you do not.

the stat sheet

off the field

Camp season is in full swing across Southern California, and the scale of it is worth seeing up close.

Look at what a program brings with it now. Under one tent: a dozen full racks, platforms, benches, dumbbells to the end of the row, fans running, the whole floor laid over with turf. That is not a scaled-down travel setup. That is a functioning strength facility, built on a field, for a few weeks of camp.

Outside, the same story in a different form. Pads, sleds, and shields staged in blocks along the grass, crates on casters, a row of canopies down the sideline for training, hydration, equipment, and staff. It takes a small operation to move all of it, set it up, and run a full camp out of it.

Some of that is recruiting, because facilities are part of the pitch. A lot of it is just the new economics of the sport. For athletes, the takeaway is that camp is no longer only where you get evaluated. It is where the brand-building starts, often well before a single deal is on the table.

the feed

The best of the SteelPeak Sports feed this month. Tap in:

Our guys, every step of the way. From Friday night lights to Saturday showdowns, we're behind the athletes we work with. As they lock into fall camp, we're helping them handle the other side of the game: NIL, taxes, and building real financial futures. All month long we're spotlighting those athletes and the game plan that keeps their money as strong as their play. Watch the reel

Navigating NIL income right now? Our team put together a free NIL & Pro Tax Survival Kit. Send us a DM with the word KIT on Instagram to get it, or reach out to Jess Boone to talk through your own game plan.

upcoming

• Late August: College football opens; Long Beach Poly begins JuJu's senior season
• Early September: NFL regular season kicks off league-wide
• Early September: Fall volleyball and soccer conference play begins on campuses nationwide
• September 15: Third-quarter estimated tax payment deadline

the fine print

A scholarship is not automatically tax-free. The portion covering tuition, fees, and required books generally is. The portion covering room and board is generally taxable income, and it does not come with a W-2. Plenty of athletes have never been told that, which is exactly the kind of gap that turns into a surprise the first time they file.

The takeaway: JuJu lost a full season to injury and came back a five-star. Financial setbacks work the same way. A bad first contract, a tax bill you did not see coming, a deal that went nowhere. None of it is disqualifying. What matters is whether you fix the system that produced it.

The money version is less catchy but just as true. Consistent habits beat a big check when the big check has no plan behind it.

final whistle

That's a wrap on August. If you take one thing from this issue, make it the September date. Ten minutes with a calendar and a separate account now is worth more than any single deal you sign this fall. Welcome again to JuJu and his family, and to everyone else in the huddle: keep competing, keep learning, and keep building something that lasts longer than a season.