there’s a point in your 30s when you realize hosting BBQs and dinner parties is the new club scene and high key better without the randoms, overpriced drinks, and terrible DJs still playing Dreams and Nightmares
NICOLE LYNN - The Legend
Trailblazing Milestones
• First Black woman to represent an NFL draft pick and specifically the first to represent a top-3 overall pick (defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, selected No. 3 overall by the New York Jets in the 2019 NFL Draft).
• First female agent hired by top NFL agency PlayersRep (in 2015; she signed her first client at age 26, making her one of the youngest female agents at the time).
• First Black female agent to represent a quarterback in the Super Bowl (Jalen Hurts with the Philadelphia Eagles)
• First Black female agent to represent four first-round picks in a single NFL Draft (2025 class).
Notable Deals Closed
• Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles QB): Negotiated a 5-year, $255 million contract extension in 2023 (with $179.3 million guaranteed). This is the largest contract ever completed by a female agent.
• Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns DE): 4-year, $160 million extension (one of the two largest defensive contracts in NFL history).
• Will Anderson Jr. (Houston Texans DE): 3-year, $150 million extension (paired with Garrett’s deal as the two biggest defensive contracts in league history; $50 million AAV).
• Quinnen Williams (now Dallas Cowboys DT): $96 million, 4-year contract extension with the Jets (2023).
What a woman.
Cal just laid off about two dozen staffers across marketing, communications, and creative services. They are replacing the entire external operation with something called "Strawberry Creek Studios," built around two objectives: revenue generation and authentic storytelling.
This is not a Cal problem...this is the first wave.
Cal is facing a $24.3 million shortfall. They owe $12 million a year in stadium debt. Their media rights money shrank when they moved to the ACC. And now they need to fund $20.5 million in annual athlete revenue sharing (Likely more) on top of all of it.
The old org chart was not built for this. All of the functions operating as cost centers with no direct connection to revenue. That structure worked when TV deals and ticket sales covered the budget. It does not work when your athletes are paid and your expenses just jumped by eight figures overnight.
Cal is not the last school that will go through this, they are one of the first. We are going to see athletic departments across the country restructure how they operate. Not because they want to, but because the math demands it. These are billion-dollar enterprises in some cases and they have been running on university department budgets with university department thinking.
That era is over. The schools that get ahead of this will not wait until the shortfall forces their hand, they will look at every function inside their athletic department and ask one question: does this generate revenue, and if not, can it?
Content is not a support function anymore, it is a revenue channel. Partnerships are not a sales team selling signage packages, they are commercial infrastructure. Alumni engagement is not a thank-you-for-donating email, it is a procurement network.
The programs that restructure around revenue as the operating system, not an afterthought, will be the ones that come out on top.
This is not a crisis, it is a market correction. College athletics is becoming a real business and the org charts need to catch up.
Always go to the funeral. Always go to the hospital. You don't need to know what to say.
In times of profound crisis, people don't remember your words, they only remember whether you showed up for them at their lowest moment.
Work. Work. Work. Stay hydrated. Go to the dentist. 10,000 steps. “What’s for dinner?” Insurance. Drink water. Pay a bill. Pay a bill. Smile. Credit Score. Check engine light. Go get gas. ALLERGIES! TAXES! STUDENT LOANS! Phone storage full. Email. Email. Apple $12.99. Apple $9.99. Subscriptions. Subscription. Overdraft. Laundry. Fold. Text. Text. Text. Clean the house. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” Doctors appoinment. Hair appoinment. Nail appointment. RENT. WAR! GOVERNMENT! POLITICS! THE PRESIDENT!!
Easter reminds us that what feels like defeat is not always final.
The pain, the waiting, the silence it all has purpose.
The cross was heavy.
The tomb was real.
But so was the resurrection.
Major cheat code in life: Master the graceful exit. From conversations. From parties. From opportunities. "This has been wonderful, but I need to go." No elaborate excuses. No fake emergencies. Just clear, kind departure. Most people don't know how to leave. They stay too long or leave badly. Master the exit.
My favorite part of resurrection is when they went back and didn’t find Jesus where they left him. Don’t let nobody find you where they left you. He got up. You can too. Nothing is too hard for God to fix.
Peak adults moments
- Leaving 10 mins early from work
- A quiet neighbour
- Having money left at the end of the month
- Peace at home
- Drinking coffee without rushing
- Laughing with true friends
- Have time to travel
- Saying no without guilty
- Having body that doesn't hurt
Under AD Nina King, Duke University is thriving across multiple sports.
A former business executive, King is part of a growing trend of business-minded leaders navigating the NIL and athlete compensation era.
Will more schools look outside traditional athletics backgrounds for future ADs?
The NCAA women's basketball Selection Committee has released, in alphabetical order, the Top 16 overall seeds for the NCAA Tournament.
Duke
Iowa
Louisville
LSU
Michigan
Minnesota
North Carolina
Ohio State
Oklahoma
South Carolina
TCU
Texas
UCLA
UConn
Vanderbilt
West Virginia
Tomorrow Night. Madison Square Garden.
The University of Connecticut. St. John's University.
Rick Pitino. Dan Hurley.
The Game of the Year in the Big East.
Round 3.
For league supremacy.
It's happening.