ZIYNX will bolster Playfly Max and combine Playfly services to deliver more value to brands and partners
BERWYN, PA (November 12, 2025)— Playfly Sports, the sports industry’s leading revenue maximization company, today announced the expansion of its NIL and digital infrastructure through a strategic investment in ZIYNX, a Gen-Z athlete marketing consultancy. Joe Carney, Founder of ZIYNX, will join the broader Playfly Sports organization to drive digital transformation, creator initiatives, and athlete-driven content strategy across all divisions.
At the center of ZIYNX’s platform is the Gen Z Athlete Lab, a national network of student-athletes who serve as the cultural signal engine behind how brands connect with the next generation of fans. These athletes provide real-time insights, creative input, and perception data that help decode what drives Gen Z relevance. Paige™, ZIYNX’s proprietary technology, powers this ecosystem through zero-party data, signal analysis, and athlete-brand matching, helping brands build authentic partnerships that move with culture.
Alongside Playfly Max, Playfly’s existing NIL agency deployed across universities, the ZIYNX Gen Z Athlete Lab and creator network will create a data-driven layer of NIL activation, turning cultural insights into revenue growth opportunities for student-athletes and brand partners. The partnership will also leverage Playfly’s extensive broadcast, digital, and sponsorship footprint to amplify athlete voices and deliver actionable, data-driven insights across collegiate, high school, and professional sports.
“ZIYNX is redefining how brands think about athlete marketing and how they connect with sports fans by creating a frictionless platform for authentic partnerships. Ultimately, we see this as a revenue accelerator for Playfly partners and as a major innovation in how the ecosystem views NIL deals,” said Craig Sloan, Playfly Sports CEO. “Joe’s main focus will be to create larger opportunities for collaboration through Home Team ADvantage, our ad tech platform, to give brands access to all of Playfly’s offerings, with scalable NIL partnerships included.”
“This partnership is about alignment and amplification,” said Joe Carney, ZIYNX Founder and CEO. “Playfly’s incredible reach, relationships, and media engine, combined with ZIYNX’s tech-enabled platform and authentic access to new generations of talent will create an ecosystem that bridges athletes, brands, and fans in more human and transformational ways. Together, we’re building the future of athletes and sports marketing as a whole.”
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ABOUT PLAYFLY SPORTS
Playfly Sports, the sports industry’s leading revenue maximization company drives growth for its partners across the sports ecosystem – including 2,000+ brands, 100+ professional teams, 65+ college athletic departments, all U.S. local sports networks and associated streaming platforms, and other marquee properties. The company uses its comprehensive and proprietary fan engagement platform to help its partners reach and engage over 85% of all U.S sports fans. Playfly builds and implements custom strategies across media, sponsorship and experiential for each of its partners by utilizing its own proprietary data, technology and storytelling. Playfly operates an expansive portfolio of services with a data-driven and fan-focused approach to maximize revenue yield in key growth areas, such as media, sponsorship, ticketing, premium experiences and fan engagement offerings. Founded in September of 2020, Playfly Sports is now home to approximately 1,000 team members located across 43 U.S. states and internationally dedicated to maximizing the impact of highly passionate local sports fans. The company has been named a Best Place To Work In Sports by Sports Business Journal, Front Office Sports, and Newsweek. To learn more, follow Playfly Sports on social media platforms or visit www.Playfly.com.
ABOUT ZIYNX
ZIYNX is a U.S.-based Gen Z athlete marketing consultancy helping brands work directly with student-athletes as cultural translators, not just influencers. Powered by the Gen Z Athlete Lab and Paige™ zero-party data platform, ZIYNX delivers real-time brand relevance insights, trend signals, and co-created campaigns that go beyond transactional partnerships. The Lab lets brands learn directly from this generation, co-create in real time, and activate the voices shaping Gen Z culture with credibility. www.teamziynx.com
