How the NIL Hub works.

The NIL Hub is a surface on college team pages that lets fans support their team's Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) collective directly. A collective is an independently-organized group — usually an LLC or non-profit — that pools fan contributions and distributes them to student-athletes under NCAA NIL rules and the collective's own bylaws.

ZoneIN's NIL Hub is a payment rail and an information surface. We verify the collective's legal entity status, route contributions through Stripe Connect, and publish updates from the collective on the team's ZoneIN page. We do not select which athletes receive payouts, set athlete compensation, or sign NIL deals with athletes ourselves.

ZoneIN is operated by Ventiq LLC. Where this disclosure refers to "ZoneIN," "we," or "us," it means Ventiq LLC, the operator of the platform.

We are explicit because the NIL space invites confusion:

• ZoneIN is not an NIL collective. We do not pool funds in our own name, hold NIL contracts with athletes, or make compensation decisions.
• ZoneIN is not a financial advisor. Nothing on this site constitutes investment, tax, or legal advice. Contributions to NIL collectives are not investments. They do not entitle you to ownership in a team, a player, a school, or a collective.
• ZoneIN is not the IRS or your tax authority. Whether your contribution is tax-deductible depends on the collective's legal structure (501(c)(3), 501(c)(7), LLC, etc.) and your jurisdiction. The collective discloses its status; you confirm with your accountant.
• ZoneIN does not guarantee athlete outcomes. We do not promise a player will receive any portion of your contribution, will sign with the school, will perform at any level, or will remain on the roster.

When a verified collective onboards to the NIL Hub, they connect a Stripe Connect Express account. Contributions from fans flow through Stripe's payment processing and are split 25/75: 25% to the collective, 75% retained by ZoneIN for platform operations, payment processing, anti-fraud, and reporting infrastructure. The same 25% routing applies to Team+ subscriptions tied to NCAA team pages, and to the NIL share of affiliate commissions from Tickets and Store on NCAA team pages — one consistent number across every revenue surface.

Stripe takes its own processing fee (currently ~2.9% + 30¢ for US card transactions) before the funds reach our share or the collective's share — that's standard across every Stripe Connect platform and is documented in Stripe's connected account agreement. The collective is responsible for distributing funds to athletes under their bylaws, for issuing tax forms to athletes who receive payouts (typically 1099-NEC for US athletes earning above the threshold), and for maintaining NCAA / state NIL compliance.

Team+ subscriptions are not tax-deductible. A Team+ subscription is a paid purchase of platform features (premium customization, VIP-lane chat, a founding-sub badge, and the like). Because you receive those benefits in return, your payment is not a charitable contribution — even on an NCAA team page where 25% of the subscription is routed as a revenue share to the school's NIL collective or athletic department, and even if that recipient is itself a 501(c)(3).

Direct NIL contributions are usually not deductible either. Deductibility depends on the recipient's legal structure (many collectives are 501(c)(7) social clubs or for-profit LLCs, not 501(c)(3) charities) and on whether you received anything of value in return. We surface the recipient's stated tax status at the point of contribution, but whether a given payment is deductible for you is a question for your own tax advisor — ZoneIN does not give tax advice.

For institutions and collectives: the revenue share routes to the recipient's designated entity, not to individual athletes. The recipient confirms its tax classification during Stripe onboarding (which sets its Stripe account type), and the recipient — not ZoneIN — is responsible for distributing funds to athletes and for issuing any required tax forms (e.g. 1099-NEC) to athletes who receive payouts. Stripe issues the connected account its own platform tax forms (e.g. 1099-K) where thresholds are met.

A collective cannot appear on a team page's NIL Hub until it has completed verification. Verification requires:

• Documented legal entity (LLC, 501(c) status if claimed, registered EIN)
• Stripe Connect Express account in good standing
• Acknowledgment of NCAA NIL rules and applicable state NIL laws
• Sign-off on our NIL Operator Agreement (separate from the Brand Page Agreement)
• Public-facing contact email + officer name

We re-verify annually. We can suspend a collective from the Hub for material breach of NCAA rules, state law, our terms, or pattern of complaints we cannot get resolved.

Every contribution flow on a verified collective's NIL Hub page shows: the collective's legal entity name, its current tax-status claim, the 25% collective / 75% ZoneIN split, the Stripe processing line item, and a one-line summary of what the collective says it does with funds (e.g., "monthly stipends to enrolled football scholarship athletes"). Past contribution receipts live in your /settings page and are also emailed.

Contributions are not subscriptions by default — they're one-time. A collective may also offer a monthly recurring tier; the recurring badge will be obvious in the flow if so. You can cancel a recurring NIL pledge anytime from /settings — the cancellation stops future charges but does not refund prior contributions.

NIL contributions are generally non-refundable once funds have settled to the collective. The collective controls funds after settlement — they may issue refunds under their own policy but ZoneIN cannot recover funds from a verified collective on your behalf. We will help mediate disputes; we cannot reverse a settled Stripe transfer.

For un-settled (still in Stripe's pending window, typically 1–2 business days) contributions, we may be able to issue a refund if you email support@mail.zoneinhq.com quickly with the receipt number.

If you believe a collective on the NIL Hub is operating outside NCAA rules, state law, our Terms, or its own bylaws, email support@mail.zoneinhq.com with the collective name and your concern. We respond within two business days. We take rule-of-play and consumer-protection issues seriously and will suspend a collective during investigation when warranted.