December 2025 — San Francisco, CA & New York, NY — Athlete+®, the first AI-powered sports fintech platform uniting athlete finance, fan engagement, and brand partnerships, today announced a strategic partnership with Kard, the first independent commerce media network. Together, the companies are redefining how athletes, fans, and brands connect through financial technology, turning everyday transactions into athlete support, brand ROI, and fan rewards.
We Help Athletes Bank®
Nearly 60% of student-athletes enter college without prior financial education. Athlete+ was built to change that — empowering athletes with credit-building tools, instant payouts, and financial fitness™ education, while enabling fans to directly support their favorite teams and athletes through every swipe of the Athlete+ fan card.
At the core of this partnership is Collective Cashback®, Athlete+’s proprietary reward model that transforms ordinary purchases into ongoing giving — a breakthrough model that modernizes collegiate fundraising by converting routine fan transactions into sustainable NIL support. When a fan buys a jersey, books a rideshare, or shops online, that fan earns cashback for themselves and helps to fund ongoing name, image, and likeness (NIL) endorsement deals for their favorite collegiate team and athletes.
By integrating Kard’s real-time merchant-funded cashback infrastructure, Athlete+ is now able to deliver personalized, merchant-level rewards to athletes and fans alike. Whether it’s grocery discounts for student-athletes or travel perks for fans attending away games, this partnership aligns value creation across the entire sports community.
AI + Fintech Powering the Future of NIL
The Kard collaboration also powers Athlete+’s proprietary NIL Score® and AI-driven endorsement automation, creating the first closed-loop system connecting financial transactions, athlete influence, and brand performance.
- NIL Score® dynamically measures athlete influence, engagement, and ROI potential based on real-world fan and spending data.
- TrueEndorse™ uses AI and first-party transaction data to match athletes with the brands they genuinely love and spend with every day, transforming endorsements from influencer deals into authentic NIL partnerships rooted in real affinity.
For brands, this means unprecedented precision: the ability to invest in NIL and sponsorships based on verified consumer behavior rather than vanity metrics.
“Our mission is simple — to help athletes build wealth, reward fandom, and help brands see measurable ROI. With Kard, we’re turning financial data into a force for good — where every purchase can fuel an athlete’s journey, a fan’s loyalty, and a brand’s bottom line.” - Mike Fingado, CEO and Co-Founder of Athlete+
Creating the Financial Operating System for Sports
Athlete+ sits at the intersection of three massive global markets: sports ($400B+), fintech, and the creator economy. Its AI-powered platform provides a financial ecosystem that links everyday commerce to athlete success, giving fans a stake in the upside they help create.
“Athlete+ is doing something truly transformative. They’re connecting commerce, loyalty, and NIL in a way that benefits every participant in the sports economy. We’re proud to power the infrastructure that makes this ecosystem so rewarding.” - Ben Mackinnon, CEO of Kard
Together, Athlete+ and Kard are redefining what it means to be part of the game, turning commerce into community, and loyalty into legacy.
About Athlete+®
Athlete+® is the world’s first AI-powered sports fintech platform uniting athlete finance, fan engagement, and brand partnerships. With Collective Cashback®, NIL Score®, and TrueEndorse™, Athlete+ turns everyday transactions into athlete support and brand ROI — helping athletes build credit, earn NIL deals, and grow their financial literacy, while giving fans the power to fund their favorite programs with every purchase.
Founded by Mike Fingado, an NFL agent at Athletepreneur®, and Brian Dzingai, a 2x Olympian, Athlete+ is building the financial operating system for the future of sports and fandom.
Visit www.AthletePlus.com to learn more.
About Kard
Kard is the first independent commerce media network. Using predictive AI and first-party transaction data from millions of Gen Z and Millennial shoppers, Kard powers hyperpersonalized offers that scale customer acquisition.
Its flexible, API-driven platform allows fintechs and FIs to compete with the biggest banks and loyalty programs, while giving merchants a scalable channel for engagement. By linking ad exposure directly to verified online and in-store purchases, Kard proves incremental impact at scale.
Learn more at www.getkard.com.
Trademark Attribution
Athlete+®, Collective Cashback®, and NIL Score® are registered trademarks, and TrueEndorse™ and Financial Fitness™ are trademarks of Athlete Plus Inc. Mastercard® is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. Kard is a trademark of Kard Financial, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
