ZIYNX opens summer NIL internship program, honors athletes on student-athlete day

Kendall Halpern is a reigning national champion.

The Northwestern women’s lacrosse player earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors last season. A two-time Academic Big Ten selection, she’s in the middle of her season trying to defend the Wildcats’ national title.

She’s interned with Creative Artists Agency and Optimum Sports. Working with ZIYNX has opened up those doors and helped deliver unique NIL opportunities. The early career and NIL marketing app connects athletes and recent graduates with corporations looking to source athletes for internships and entry-level roles.

Halpern was recently named the ZIYNX Athlete of the Month for March. Founded by Joe Carney, who has worked at ESPN, the NFL, MLB and The Players’ Tribune, the platform has played a key role in helping the Northwestern star prepare for life after lacrosse.

“Joe and his team are such amazing people,” she recently told On3. “What they’ve done for athletes like myself and athletes around the country. Being a female athlete you don’t get all these opportunities to present yourself in the early stages of NIL. I think their team has really taken NIL to a whole different level, reaching a different population of athletes. The way Joe has been able to put our faces in front of people we wouldn’t of been given this opportunity, too.”

ZIYNX opens summer internship program

Carney’s approach is different than the standard NIL marketplace. The UMass graduate doesn’t view ZIYNX as a transactional stop for athletes to pocket cash and promote a brand. Instead, the platform takes a boutique approach, creating character profiles and making sure athletes are activating with brands that align.

ZIYNX executed more than 500 NIL deals in 2023. Over 3,000 athletes are in the ecosystem. In January, the platform partnered with Opendorse to execute 100 endorsement deals in 200 days with female college athletes. Opendorse supported ZIYNX in sourcing the athletes who then applied for NIL opportunities on the ZINYX app by creating 24-second videos.

Beyond NIL deals, Carney’s company offers micro-internships. The eight-week paid internship helps players discover their identity beyond being an athlete and nail their elevator pitch. Along with bringing in a content creator and financial advisor to meet with athletes, ZIYNX provides a professional resume writer to work with athletes.

Applications have opened for the summer internship program.

“The heart behind ZIYNX was to really help student-athletes help identify who they were beyond an athlete, while at the same time, helping prepare them for life after sport,” Carney said. “Too many athletes, if you look at the ecosystem, unfortunately, don’t have the same free time as a non-athlete to take on internship experience, don’t have the same free time to realize their GPA potential. Many, unfortunately, are influenced by sports schedules. You add all those things up and it’s abruptly over, a lot of them aren’t prepared for life after sport and go through identity foreclosure.

“If I’m not an athlete, who am I and what is my self worth? So at the heart of ZIYNX, we’re really trying to use NIL in a different way. In a way that is going to allow athletes to view these NIL deals as micro-internships. The focus for us is less about the top 1% and really the 99% that won’t go pro.”

ZIYNX honoring athletes on student-athlete day

Central State track and field captain Myles Lacking is finishing up his micro-internship with ZIYNX. The school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) president is set to graduate next month. With his college career nearly over, going through the internship has opened his eyes to what is ahead outside of Central State.

“I’m currently a marketing intern with ZIYNX, I’ve been able to expand my knowledge on marketing techniques and the ability to come up with ideas on the fly,” he said. “ZIYNX has given me a great platform, so very thankful for the opportunity being presented.”

Saturday marks National Student-Athlete Day, allowing ZIYNX to recognize the accomplishments of athletes at all levels. The platform has launched a social media campaign putting a spotlight on athletes across divisions and sports that leverage ZIYNX.

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ZIYNX’s long-term goal

Carney is pleased with the impact ZIYNX has already made on supporting athletes beyond the sports they play. But he also knows there’s a lot of work ahead to help student-athletes discover who they are beyond their athlete identity.

Carney’s main goals moving forward are to give athletes more than a resume to help market themselves to companies looking for difference makers. Plus, he wants to grow the community on the app, so ZIYNX can support athletes’ professional development while connecting them with brands they may want to work with or work for.

Through the platform’s athlete-brand verification process, he wants to make sure athletes are set up for success with brand partnerships.

“If you don’t have a direct correlation to a given product, that inauthenticity is starting to rub people the wrong way, if you will,” Carney said. “Anyone who knows Gen Z, they smell that stuff right away. I just think NIL can do a better job making sure it’s not just about the transaction and that there’s a real true belief in that brand.”

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