Fans can now fund college athletes to join or stay with teams through new platform Fanstake

A new crowdfunding platform called Fanstake allows college sports fans to financially support specific athletes, influencing their decisions to join or stay with teams. This marks a shift from previous restrictions on fan involvement in athlete recruitment. Fans can pledge money to athletes they want to recruit or retain. If an athlete chooses a school, they must enter an NIL agreement with Fanstake, which requires them to promote the platform. Athletes keep at least 90% of the funds raised. Fanstake launched in November and has attracted over 5,000 fans pledging more than $20,000. Initially focused on Division I football and basketball, Fanstake plans to expand to other sports and divisions.