Hofstra men's lacrosse signs unique NIL deal for 2025 season
Hofstra midfielder John Madsen makes a pass in the third quarter during a game against Drexel on April 13, 2024. Credit: Bob Sorensen
The Hofstra men’s lacrosse team is doing things its own way.
On March 6, the team announced a landmark name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreement with The Athlete Amplifier – a nonprofit foundation that facilitates NIL deals – that includes every member of the team. Each of the team’s 46 student-athletes received $500 to open an investment account through Charles Schwab & Co.
Joe Rinaldi, a Hofstra alum and founder of The Athlete Amplifier, reached out to coach Seth Tierney to see if he could help the team in recruiting or retaining certain players. Tierney, who is in his 19th year as Hofstra’s head coach, offered up a unique spin.
Hofstra men's lacrosse head coach Seth Tierney looks on during a game against the LIU Sharks at Hofstra on Feb. 29, 2020. Credit: Lee S. Weissman
“If one of my players goes out and gets an NIL deal, God bless them and they deserve it, knock yourself out,” Tierney said. “But if I’m gonna be in the room or at the table, I need to talk about all the kids… I want to take care of them all.”
The goal of the deal is to promote financial literacy throughout the team. The athletes have the opportunity to ask experts from Quantum Financial Advisors – a financial planning company of which Rinaldi is the President – for advice in determining what type of account to open and how to invest their money.
“In high school, or even in college if you’re not a business major, how many people really know how it works?” Tierney said. “A bank account, interest, investing, or how to get real estate and what appreciation is. They don’t. They kind of learn as they go and they make some mistakes, but if we can have them sit through a few sessions and make it click… I want them to succeed after their time here at Hofstra. I’m not gonna stop coaching them just because their eligibility is up.”
Rinaldi is originally from Lynbrook and attended Malverne High School. He played football at Hofstra, where he was originally a pre-med student before switching to business. He graduated in 1981 and now lives in Maryland. His son, Anthony, is a redshirt freshman on the Hofstra lacrosse team.
“I really believe that education should be the focal point for these kids, not money. This is groundbreaking,” Rinaldi said. “I’d like people to focus on the educational piece because that’s why they’re going to school. I hope, and I would be humbled, if it becomes the motto of NIL.”
Along with the initial $500, the team is participating in an investment competition amongst each other, with the winner receiving an additional $500. Each member of the team is also being offered an internship opportunity with Quantum Financial Advisors.
“It’s a really good opportunity to invest, have an IRA and an internship opportunity. Not a lot of people get that,” said junior Anthony Mollica. “Everyone on the team has that opportunity, whether you’re on top of the depth chart or the lowest guy. It’s really cool to see.”
Mollica, a Massapequa product, is a finance major, so this deal was right up his alley. But that wasn’t the case for some of his teammates.
“Some guys didn’t even know what a Roth IRA was, so they were mind blown,” Mollica said.
NCAA athletes became eligible to monetize their NIL in July 2021, right after John Madsen, a senior on the team, graduated from Locust Valley High School.
“You’d hear, ‘NIL is a thing now,’ but that doesn’t really mean much and you think that the big football schools and basketball schools will probably get the most of that,” said Madsen, a marketing major. “The fact that we got lucky enough for it to hit Hofstra lacrosse is awesome.”
Tierney said that every member of the team has already received their compensation and they’re off to investing. Even if a player decides to transfer after this season, the money and the investment account remains in their name.
Tierney said he has already heard from other alumni that want to get involved in some capacity. This particular deal is only for this season’s team, but Tierney expects to facilitate similar agreements going forward. He and Rinaldi hope that this type of educational, teamwide NIL deal becomes the norm across the NCAA landscape.
“This is caring after they graduate,” Tierney said. “These guys will maybe get together 40 years from now and go, ‘That coach, he knew.’ Maybe it’s just a really cool vacation. Maybe it’s money that they may need if they fall on some hard times. Maybe they get a chance to retire a few years early because of the foresight of doing this.”
