Why Our Athletes Earn More Than a Paycheck

Playing to Win

October 02, 2025

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Welcome to the Latest Newsletter
of Playing to Win!

My newsletter is designed specifically to help business owners like you grow your companies with tried & applied bits of business knowledge, all communicated in actionable, bite-sized chunks. I will share insights and advice aimed at enhancing your business operations, boosting your success, and allowing you to focus more on what truly matters. Let's work together to achieve your goals and make your endeavors a reality.

Key Points of the Newsletter

  • A competitive salary isn’t enough, true buy-in requires a long-term incentive.
  • We built a system that turns athletes into long-term partners, not just promoters.
  • Every order a customer places is a win for the original athlete who brought them in.

Why Our Athletes Earn More Than a Paycheck

 
Let’s talk about how we flipped the traditional influencer compensation model on its head.

It wasn’t enough for us to just pay our athletes a market-competitive salary. Sure, we could write a check and call it a day, but that wouldn’t create alignment. It wouldn’t build loyalty. It wouldn’t make them think like owners.

So we built something better.

We created an annuity model. Here's how it works: when an athlete brings in a new customer, someone who’s never bought from us before, that customer gets tied to that athlete for life.

And I mean that literally.

Every single order that customer makes from that moment forward—whether it’s a rebuy from a great experience, or a follow-up purchase because they saw another athlete promoting a different product—the original athlete still gets paid.

It doesn’t matter if the customer returns because of a text message, a new product drop, an email campaign, or another influencer’s video. The origin still traces back to that first athlete.

That’s lifetime commission. Real equity in the customer relationship.

And it’s not just a marketing gimmick. It’s a philosophy.

If we say we value our athletes as partners, we have to structure incentives that prove it. This model does exactly that. It turns an athlete’s influence into a durable asset—and encourages them to care deeply about how the brand performs long after the first post goes live.

It also creates something else: integrity.

Because athletes only stay in the program if they continue to reflect our values. This isn’t a “set it and forget it” deal. It’s earned. It’s maintained. It’s aligned.

So if you want real buy-in from the people repping your brand, stop thinking in terms of flat fees.

Start thinking in terms of forever.

Stay tuned for more insights in our next newsletter. Remember, it's the small adjustments that often make the biggest impact on your business's profitability. Here's to your continued success!

Stay driven to push your business forward,
Ryan Niddel