Most financial conversations with athletes start with the money. John Bronkhorst starts with the asset that creates it. John Bronkhorst spent 30 years as an Athletic Administrator and Coach before becoming a Financial Professional with Capitol Wealth Strategies in Austin, Texas. That background — three decades on the sideline and in the athletic director's office — gives him something most financial advisors who work with athletes simply don't have: he understands the athlete from the inside. The culture, the identity, the compressed earning windows, the transition risk, and the specific financial complexity that arrives when NIL income starts flowing before most young athletes have ever filed a tax return. John is NIL certified through CleanKonnect NIL, the F.R.O.G. NIL Certification Program through the TCU Neeley Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and holds an NIL/MBA executive-level certification through Student-Athlete Insights. He works with high school and college athletes navigating NIL and revenue sharing income, physicians and medical professionals, agents, coaches, educators, administrators, and high-performing professionals and business owners — anyone whose financial complexity grows as their income grows. His work is built around one conviction: financial confidence begins with protecting the asset that drives everything. The ability to earn. Everything else builds from there. In this episode, Erin Sarles and Thomas Roe sit down with John to talk about what athletes and high earners are getting wrong about financial security, what NIL income actually demands of a young athlete's financial infrastructure, and what the education-first approach to income protection and wealth-building looks like for someone navigating earnings for the first time. In this episode: — The biggest lie the financial industry tells athletes and high earners about where to start — What 30 years in athletics taught John about how athletes think about money — and what it costs them when nobody changes that — What NIL income specifically demands of a high school or college athlete's financial planning that most families aren't prepared for — The difference between disability insurance, life insurance, and annuities — and how they work together as a layered strategy — What "own-occupation" disability coverage means and why it matters more for athletes than almost anyone else — What every athlete, coach, and parent needs to understand about income protection before the money starts flowing This one is for every athlete generating NIL income without a financial plan. Every parent navigating a landscape that didn't exist when they were in school. Every high-income professional who has been building without protecting what makes all of it possible. Connect with John: Capitol Wealth Strategies — Austin, Texas The Standard Podcast™ — Raise the bar. Rebuild the culture. Become the standard. Support the show CONNECT WITH US: 🌐 Website: blueprintbluechip.com 📸 Instagram: @blueprintbluechip 💼 LinkedIn: Erin Sarles 📧 Email: erin@erinsarles.com FREE RESOURCE: Join the 5-Day Reset™ — designed for athletes ready to build identity, discipline, and purpose beyond the game. 👉 blueprintbluechip.com/blueprintfoundationschallenge SUPPORT THE SHOW: Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or SpotifyShare this episode with an athlete, parent, coach, or leaderFollow us on social media and join the conversationBOOK ERIN TO SPEAK: Looking for a speaker who challenges comfort and calls out truth? Erin is available for team workshops, parent seminars, and leadership events. 📩 erin@erinsarles.com ABOUT THE STANDARD PODCAST™: This isn't motivation. This is a movement. Hosted by Erin Sarles and Thomas Roe, co-founders of Blueprint to Bluechip™, The Standard Podcast™ calls out the lies culture sold athletes and raises a new standard in sports, leadership, and life. We bring raw, truth-packed 20-25 minute conversations about identity, discipline, and legacy that goes beyond the scoreboard. New episodes drop every Monday. Raise the bar. Rebuild the culture. Become the standard.
