Ten years ago, the path of a Division 1 college basketball player was relatively straightforward: go to class, listen to your coach, and hope you play well enough to get drafted. If you needed spending money, you hoped for a Pell Grant or a campus job.
Today, top-tier college athletes are operating as the managers of their own personal brands.
The introduction of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) regulations transformed the NCAA from an amateur developmental league into a rapidly growing free market. In this episode of Y’all Street, Gonzaga Men’s Basketball guards Jalen Warley and Braeden Smith sat down with host Tarek to discuss how they are navigating the evolving business of modern college sports.
Building the Brand (Whether You Want To Or Not)
In the NIL era, an athlete’s earning potential is directly tied to their public perception and community engagement.
“Whether we know it or we don’t, we are building our own brands,” Warley explained. “We have to always keep that in mind and just think about what type of brand we want to build… Agents are involved. We’re now getting different opportunities that can really help our family.”
Athletes are no longer just running offensive sets; they are evaluating endorsement contracts, negotiating terms with representatives, and determining how to make the most of their platform. But for players like Warley and Smith, the best brand strategy is authenticity. Rather than chasing every dollar, they focus on leveraging their status to build genuine connections, like shooting hoops with elementary school kids who have idolized Gonzaga basketball for decades.
“To be a great leader, you have to be a great follower first… be someone who can hear things and do it the very first time, kind of be a sponge.”
Jalen Warley
The Ultimate Necessity: Financial Literacy
With significant cash flow comes significant responsibility. For 19-to-22-year-olds receiving sudden influxes of capital, the risk of financial mismanagement is real.
During his time at the University of Virginia, Warley was enrolled in a financial literacy class—a resource that fundamentally changed how he views his NIL earnings.
“It was a whole new world for me,” Warley noted. “Learning how that money can also make money for you… the different opportunities you can have if you’re very smart about what you invest in, how you save, and a certain percentage you should save of each check.”
Smith echoed this sentiment, relying heavily on family guidance to set up investment vehicles early in his career, ensuring that the money he earns now continues to work for him long after the final buzzer sounds.
Protecting the Mental Asset
In business, noise kills execution. For high-profile athletes at a top-tier program like Gonzaga, the “noise” comes from social media. Millions of fans offer daily opinions on their performance, draft stock, and personal lives.
Smith’s approach to brand management is surprisingly old-school: he ignores it completely.
“I have an understanding now that good or bad, whatever’s out there, it’s poison,” Smith stated bluntly. “If you see something, now that’s in your head. I just try and stay off it as much as I can and focus on the people who I care about, not strangers.”
“When you first come around and see your name everywhere, it’s cool… But I kind of have an understanding now that good or bad, whatever’s out there, it’s poison. I try and stay off of social media as best as I can.”
Braeden Smith
The Bottom Line
The transfer portal and the NIL era have given college athletes unprecedented leverage. But with that leverage comes the requirement to operate with extreme professional maturity. Warley and Smith prove that succeeding in today’s NCAA requires more than just a high shooting percentage—it requires the financial discipline of an investor, the brand awareness of a marketer, and the operational grit of a CEO.
Watch Jalen Warley and Braeden Smith break down the business of college basketball on Episode 11 of Y’all Street.
