Meet Peter Iwuh, the Morgan State alum behind a new AI platform aimed at supporting underrepresented athletes at HBCUs and smaller colleges in securing NIL deals.
After making history in 2023 with the launch of Tykoon Sports Agency—the first Black-owned Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) marketing agency in the billion-dollar NIL industry—Iwuh, alongside Co-founder and CTO Omogbolade Ajayi and Chief Growth Officer Alexander Turner, is aiming to further transform college sports marketing with Tykoon AI. Designed to empower underrepresented athletes at HBCUs, smaller schools, and lesser-known conferences, the platform enables them to manage essential components of a successful NIL portfolio seamlessly and all in one place.
“Being an individual of
color who is faced with oppression, being a first-generation college student, and being raised in a single-mother household, it is a common experience to feel overlooked,” Iwuh told AfroTech.Athletes using Tykoon AI can create content, grow their digital presence, secure brand partnerships, and sell custom merchandise, key elements of a thriving NIL portfolio. “Built for athletes, trusted by schools, and scaled by brands,” the company states, Tykoon AI aims to remove the barriers that prevent athletes outside Division 1 programs from accessing lucrative NIL opportunities.
While high-profile athletes with strong online followings—like Shedeur Sanders, who reportedly earned
$6 million in NIL deals at Colorado—can garner significant deals, the average NIL athlete makes roughly $21,331 annually, with earnings even lower for athletes at HBCUs and smaller schools. Tykoon AI addresses this gap by providing a platform that enables overlooked athletes to streamline content creation and connect directly with potential sponsors.“Even though I’m not a student athlete, it’s a common experience to feel overlooked and under-resourced and feel like no one is here to support me,” Iwuh said. “When I was attending [Morgan State University], I came across student athletes who were picking negative pathways because they did not have options, and I’m one who just wanted to diversify the options.”
The platform’s features include tools to help athletes connect with local businesses through an interactive merchant map, reach national brands, and explore open NIL deals with details on requirements and earning potential. It also streamlines deal deliverables with reminders, enables athletes to design custom fan merchandise, and offers GamePlan AI—a feature that generates ideas for merch, brand partnerships, and content.
Additionally, athletes can scan contracts for compliance summaries, track earnings from partnerships, merchandise, and social media growth, and access an AI-powered score system directly from their dashboard.
“Since NIL started, it’s been nearing a billion-dollar market already in its very early stages,” Iwuh said. “While those are amazing numbers, the
unfortunate reality is that most of those funds and resources are being allocated towards athletes at top conferences, top schools, and the top sports…That’s why we’re building this platform to bring the opportunity to student athletes. We’re not waiting on the athletic departments anymore.”RELATED CONTENT: Kanye Udoh And Jordan Crook Partner With ClipDart In Groundbreaking NIL Deal