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Knights of The Raritan / #KTR - Rutgers' First & Only NIL Launch

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As we’ve teased over the last two weeks, a group of RU fans is excited to announce the launch of RU’s first and only NIL program - Knights of The Raritan, or KTR. Below should answer several questions up front, but I am happy to field any others. In addition, the website also provides an FAQ that may answer several additional questions...

What is this?
Knights of The Raritan was created with one mission in mind – to empower Rutgers student-athletes to achieve their greatest potential in the classroom, on the playing field, and in life. With the passing of legislation allowing student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, Knights of The Raritan leverages the collective power one of the nation’s largest university alumni bases to help equip Scarlet Knights student-athletes with the tools and resources necessary for them to excel both during and after their time in New Brunswick and Piscataway. More importantly, we want student-athletes to maximize their NIL opportunities the right way, without ever compromising the values of the university and the legacy of all those who have donned scarlet in the past.

Where do I go?
https://knightsoftheraritan.com/

How much has been raised?
We are currently not disclosing the amount that has been raised initially. Funds have been contributed by members of the board, as well as several other non-board members.

Who is involved?
KTR has 9 active founding board, or “Executive Committee”, members, and 12 advisory board members (former athletes). KTR may add more Executive Committee members in the future, and will certainly look to add additional advisory board members.

How are players paid?
KTR will work with student-athletes in developing NIL activations.

What are NIL activations?
NIL activations are quid pro quo arrangements between KTR and student-athletes. Examples of activations are below.

Autograph Signings
Special Appearances
Video Messages
Product Endorsements
Social Media Endorsements
Youth Camps and Clinics
Radio and TV Commercials
NFTs, Crypto and Digital Assets
Internships
Professional Career Development
Merchandise Photoshoots
Charity Events
Exclusive and Co-Branded Apparel and Merchandise Lines
Speaking engagements
And more...

Is this only for revenue-generating sports?
No. All sports are included. Monies contributed to KTR can either be designated to be used broadly at the discretion of SANIL and/or the board, OR may be directed to only be used for individual sports / athletes.

Can I direct my contribution to individual athletes?
Yes.

What if I don’t designate a sport?
The board will work with SANIL to execute on NIL activations from the "general pool” of funds. If you designate a sport, monies will be set aside for that sport’s NIL pool. If you do not, then SANIL and the board will look at the general pool and will designate to sports in the best manner to execute KTR’s founding goals.

What is SANIL?
Student Athlete NIL (SANIL) is a leading sports marketing agency in the NIL space, run by Rutgers alumnus Jason Belzer. SANIL, or their affiliate organization, Student Athlete Empowerment, LLC (SAE), have been engaged by the KTR board to run the entire front, middle, and back office of the NIL initiative.

Jason is an RU graduate, an adjunct professor in sports business, a lawyer by trade, and the founder of several sports marketing organizations.

What will SANIL do?
SANIL will be tasked with everything from:

1) developing student-athlete NIL activations,
2) executing contracts with athletes,
3) engaging in fundraising initiatives and corporate development,
4) developing and managing marketing (i.e., website, graphics, student-athlete promotions),
5) ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal laws, as well as with NCAA, Conference, and school requirements
6) ensuring that services are rendered by student-athletes prior to payment
7) providing education programs to student-athletes on financial matters, such as taxation
8) providing tax withholdings and 1099 reporting to student-athletes
and much more...

How does SANIL / SAE get paid?
No more than 15% of funds received will be paid to them. In addition, to be clear - all expenses of KTR will come out of the 15%. Student-athletes will receive 85% of funds received.

What does the board do?
The board was founded to facilitate the creation of the NIL program and will provide oversight over its execution by SANIL. In addition, members of the board will help with fundraising efforts and serve as liaisons with student-athletes, the school, and fans / KTR members.

Does the board get paid or have access to the money?
No. No. And I will repeat…NO. The board’s sole focus is to help guide and oversee.

Will this be used for recruiting athletes?
KTR is not meant to be a recruiting program. It is meant to empower current student-athletes.

How do I get involved?
Joining KTR is easy. Go to the website, click “Join” and choose the membership level that interests you the most. We look forward to engaging with more fans and getting folks to join KTR.

What do I get?
In addition to empowering student-athletes at Rutgers, if you join the membership and subscribe, each membership level has its own level of perks. These membership levels are outlined on the “Join” portion of the website.

Do I need to “join” / “subscribe” in order to participate?
No, one-time contributions may be made of any amount and level.

Can I buy KTR merchandise, and do proceeds support NIL activations?
Absolutely. The website has a store currently live where you can purchase several KTR merchandise items. Proceeds will go to supporting the general NIL pool of KTR.

Are my contributions tax deductible?
No. KTR is not a 501c3 organization.

I run a business - how do I develop an specifc activation with a student-athlete?
You can contact us at 201-875-7676 or email henry@knightsoftheraritan.com

Anything else?
Listen to Jon’s podcast this week and next week for additional discussions regarding KTR. The podcast can be found on apple’s podcast platform, as well as others. “The Scarlet Spotlight"
 
Seems well done and thought out.

I’m curious what the role and activities of the advisory board are. And if there’s someone who’s behind the scenes that made this whole thing go.

Also would help to know what type of deals they’re imagining of providing. What’s their goal? Are they more focused on providing a “base” salary for athletes across all sports ? Just football & basketball ? Are they more focused on providing big dollars to attract high end recruits/ transfers ?
 
I’m curious what the role and activities of the advisory board are. And if there’s someone who’s behind the scenes that made this whole thing go.

Also would help to know what type of deals they’re imagining of providing. What’s their goal? Are they more focused on providing a “base” salary for athletes across all sports ? Just football & basketball ? Are they more focused on providing big dollars to attract high end recruits/ transfers ?

See more info/details here:

 
See more info/details here:


that was super helpful and the details I was wondering about.
 
????
Not sure what your emoji is supposed to connote, but I suspected some RU fans are going to have negative reactions. NIL is here. RU fans either need to get on board, or watch RU get left behind. There will be a contingent of protesters and people stamping their feet. If you don't have anything nice to say, maybe don't say anything at all.
 
Seems well done and thought out.

I’m curious what the role and activities of the advisory board are. And if there’s someone who’s behind the scenes that made this whole thing go.

Also would help to know what type of deals they’re imagining of providing. What’s their goal? Are they more focused on providing a “base” salary for athletes across all sports ? Just football & basketball ? Are they more focused on providing big dollars to attract high end recruits/ transfers ?


@RUJON might be able to fill in some answers
 
I love and hate this.

Love that the RU community came together and got this done.

Hate that it has come down to this. Do I stop my donations to the school and now start contributing to this instead?
It's a fair question. I am certain it's a question school administrations don't like being asked. Personally, I am hopeful fans will be able to carve a little bit more out of their budgets in order to support both. I recognize that's a tall order for many folks. Thankfully we have one of the largest alumni fan bases in the world... small dollars en masse will yield huge results for both KTR and the school.
 
I love and hate this.

Love that the RU community came together and got this done.

Hate that it has come down to this. Do I stop my donations to the school and now start contributing to this instead?
I was told by many NIL wouldn't impact Rutgers atletic department revenue and it wouldn't impact other sports. I fully expect some people to divert their regular donations in to funds that indirectly play players.

I am a Pittsburgh Pirates fan 1st, but rooted for the Yankees as a kid. That changed over time and when the Yankees spent a ton of money for Giambi that was my breaking point, I know despise the Yankees.

I can see myself being out in 2-3 years
 
I'm here and around all day. I think the Fonseca and Carino stories do an awesome job of explaining what we are up to.
Great job Jon. Would be cool as part of this project to also offer some education on marketing, etc to the athletes. If that ever becomes a thing, I’m happy to volunteer.
 
Thank you so much to those who poured time and effort into this project.

This is going to help a ton of kids (and their families!), especially in the sports that primarily offer only partial scholarships.

I do worry about creating a mercenary culture for MBB and football, but like everyone here has said -- the NIL toothpaste is out of the tube.
 
Thanks so much to the folks who have already joined. Great to see the early enthusiasm.
 
I'm happy to the launch of this, but I'm very curious what the participation rate would be here. With our history of non-giving to our university and its athletics programs, I would expect that would carry over here and we'll have the smallest fund in the B1G. I hope I am wrong though.
 
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Thanks for all the interest and to those who have joined today.
 
I'm happy to the launch of this, but I'm very curious what the participation rate would be here. With our history of non-giving to our university and its athletics programs, I would expect that would carry over here and we'll have the smallest fund in the B1G. I hope I am wrong though.
I hope they aren't bringing a knife to a gunfight.
 
I'm happy to the launch of this, but I'm very curious what the participation rate would be here. With our history of non-giving to our university and its athletics programs, I would expect that would carry over here and we'll have the smallest fund in the B1G. I hope I am wrong though.

Per the article, only 7 of the 14 Big 10 teams have a group like this, so we’re already ahead of the curve.

Few programs in the country can compete with the corporate/marketing foot print we have in the Tri-State area. This group can hypothetically maximize that, no matter what the donor enthusiasm is of the fan-base.
 
All of the above. And the size of the “weapon” will be determined by all of us.
 
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????
Not sure what your emoji is supposed to connote, but I suspected some RU fans are going to have negative reactions. NIL is here. RU fans either need to get on board, or watch RU get left behind. There will be a contingent of protesters and people stamping their feet. If you don't have anything nice to say, maybe don't say anything at all.

Seriously. Dude needs to delete that.
 
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