Lifetime Cardinal is an LLC, founded by long-time alumni supporters of Stanford University and Stanford athletics. We are an independent NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) organization that raises money for NIL services, and offers programs to support Stanford student-athletes during their time at Stanford and beyond.

A core group of alums (including Allen Thorpe ‘92, Ed McCaffrey ‘91 MA ‘91, and Andrew Luck ‘12) provided the capital for our initial student-athlete agreements and for staffing and operations. Our staff includes alumni from Stanford football, volleyball, and water polo teams and veterans of the sports business world. We have a growing base of committed and highly successful supporters, representing a range of professional fields, backgrounds, team affiliations, and generations.

Lifetime Cardinal currently has entered into agreements with over 130 student-athletes across Stanford’s football, women’s basketball, and men’s basketball teams for the 2023-24 year. Additional agreements have been signed with athletes of other teams where specific funding sources have stepped up with support. We seek to expand our agreements and programs to as many teams and athletes as funding allows.

Enrolled student-athletes in funded sports are offered annual marketing services contracts with Lifetime Cardinal, and agree to provide the value of their Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) in exchange for financial compensation from us. Typically, Lifetime Cardinal uses the student-athletes’ NIL to promote community organizations and their causes through appearances and promotional work. Lifetime Cardinal vets and designates these opportunities and schedules them around student-athletes’ demanding calendars. Organizations we’ve supported and promoted thus far include Ronald McDonald House, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Haven Family House, and Wender Weis Foundation for Children.

There are a variety of rules and regulations around NIL from the NCAA, state governments, federal government and Stanford University. Lifetime Cardinal is committed to full compliance with all of the relevant requirements. Lifetime Cardinal contracts only with current Stanford student-athletes.

Career development, networking opportunities, and financial literacy education are all cornerstone services we offer in addition to the NIL related income opportunities. As our name suggests, Lifetime Cardinal’s mission of student-athlete support extends beyond NIL-based compensation and community outreach.  We are committed to helping student-athletes achieve greater success in whatever they pursue, even after they have left campus. Exposure to, and involvement with high-achieving Stanford alumni across professional fields will be central in this effort.  

As per current NIL regulations, we operate entirely independently from Stanford University. We do maintain lines of communication with appropriate University officials in order to ensure compliance with University policies, and uphold the elite standards of Stanford and its stakeholders. Lifetime Cardinal is the only NIL collective currently operating to offer NIL income opportunities and programs for Cardinal student-athletes.

Your support goes directly to compensate student-athletes for their NIL. The Lifetime Cardinal board underwrites our operating expenses, so funding can provide competitive NIL payments to student-athletes. Funds can be directed towards specific sports if desired.

There are multiple ways to get involved! 

Contribute – Financial support is the lifeblood of a competitive NIL program

Hire – Provide internships and job opportunities for Lifetime Cardinal student-athletes

Sponsor – Become a Lifetime Cardinal sponsor to underwrite unique programs for student athletes and have student-athletes be ambassadors for your brand or business

Evangelize – Spread the word about Lifetime Cardinal through your peer groups via events, Zoom calls, social media re-posts, etc.  We can help!

Follow – Keep an eye on us through Instagram, X, and LinkedIn to find out about events, programs, and successes of our “Next-Level NIL”

Mentor and Build Community – Meet with Lifetime Cardinal student-athletes, understand their talents, skills, and dreams, and plug into others who can help them 

Reach out – to discuss customizable involvement opportunities with Lifetime Cardinal and our Stanford student-athletes.