East Lansing, Mich. - This is the second in a two-part Q&A series with the key players in Jaxon Kohler’s precedent-setting Name, Image & Likeness promotional contract with Helium Sports & Entertainment, a marketing and consulting firm headquartered in Detroit.

On Friday, SpartanMag.com ran a transcript of publisher Jim Comparoni’s interview with Jeff Kohler, the father of Jaxon Kohler, Top 100 basketball recruit who committed to Michigan State last September, signed in November and will be a freshman at Michigan State in the upcoming season.

Today, SpartanMag.com is running a transcript of Comparoni’s interview with Helium Sports & Entertainment founder Justin Brantley.

With these interviews, we hope to provide behind-the-scenes insight for our readers into the changing nature of sports marketing for individual athletes within the framework of college sports and recruiting.

SpartanMag: In speaking with Jaxon Kohler’s father, he confirmed that Jaxon received a bonus for signing with Helium Sports & Entertainment, and Helium will help him seek NIL opportunities while Helium will get a percentage of those earnings. Is that accurate?

Justin Brantley: “Correct. Our job is to identify not only the NIL opportunities that exist, but the ones that best-align with Jaxon and align with his long-term brand goal. I think the biggest current misconception about the NIL space is that it’s all about the money. Not to say that there aren’t people that do take that approach and are focused on the biggest deals and the most financially-lucrative deals. But for us it’s about what aligns with his brand, long-term, his objectives and goals long-term, and will best-represent him.

SM: It’s my understanding you’re going to help him find some of those things so that he doesn’t have to, which will allow him to concentrate on basketball?

Brantley: Right. So he can concentrate on his academics and basketball.

SM: I like that. Well-played. My mistake.

I was talking to Mr. Kohler and he said they started having serious discussions with you about this some time around the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic in Memphis in late April. What was it that attracted you and your agency to Jaxon Kohler?

Brantley: I have broadcast Jaxon’s games for the last two years, so I’ve had the opportunity to see him up close and personal during his time with the Strive for Greatness (AAU) team, during his time with Southern California Academy. I’ve had a chance to watch his growth and development, but most importantly see his personal maturation. And Jaxon has been one of those guys who always greets you with a smile. He is so well-mannered and respectful and a great young man.

Initially there was no interest in representing him. At all. My company has previously worked with brands like SUVtv, where I work on the recruiting side and identifying top players, and I broadcast some of their top games. Our focus has never been on the NIL space. We have researched the space and we have taken the last year or so, since the ruling came down on it, to really understand it rather than just jump head-first into it.

After getting a chance to see Jaxon play, and build a relationship, I knew that there was no other player that could be that number one, or that first marquee client for us, and I think that’s what Jaxon is. Jaxon brings so much to the table, not just on the court but beyond the court that I’m excited about his future potential and being able to help him cultivate and grow his brand.

SM: What can you tell me about Helium Sports & Entertainment and your involvement with it?

Brantley: That’s my company. I’m the founder. It’s a privately-owned company. I hold 98 percent of the shares.

SM: So you were working with SUVtv, and meanwhile you founded Helium Sports & Entertainment. Those were two separate entities?

Brantley: Yes.

SM: You were also with Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, where Rocket Watts played high school basketball?

Brantley: Correct. I was the athletic director at Spire Academy for a couple of years. Prior to that, I was National Scouting Director for NCSA Athletic Recruiting. I’ve been in the space. I was with Nike EYBL All-Ohio Red and I was the Midwest Recruiting Coordinator for All-Ohio Red. So I’ve been in the grassroots space for the last 15 years.

Rocket Watts played for me at Spire, and Terry Lockett played for me at Spire. So a lot of connections.

SM: How long as Helium been around? When did you establish it?

Brantley: Helium was essentially a rebrand in name. I established a marketing and consulting firm called The Brantley Method two years ago. We rebranded as Helium last month.

SM: When I spoke with Jeff Kohler, he said that they already knew you when other agencies were trying to get to know them, and he said it was a bonus that your company is headquartered in Detroit and that you would have your ear to the ground for local opportunities. Do you think that can be a strength for Helium? I’m sure you have designs on becoming national, but am I wrong to think that from a geographical standpoint you have a chance to leverage things more strongly for a Michigan State athlete due to being based in Michigan?

Brantley: I think that makes a lot of sense. And on top of that, being able to be there and support Jaxon in whatever he needs, whenever he needs it. If he’s having a rough day and just wants to go sit down and have a cup of coffee and talk. Being able to make that call. Being able to be there and see his games and being able to have those conversations with him about the growth and maturation of his game and college life.

My wife is from Lansing. We intimately understand the marketplace. I’m from Detroit. So identifying the right local opportunities is a big part of the puzzle of what we’re looking to do.

SM: I know it’s very competitive in the sports agency world. I assume there are going to be agencies and agents that represent NBA players who I’m sure have already gotten down to the high school level and younger with the idea of helping players with NIL, and also to help them choose colleges, with the idea that they will represent them when they are NBA professionals and so forth. Am I right about that? And what impact do you see that having, and how does that get navigated while they are also playing for college coaches?

Brantley: I absolutely think that’s a part of what’s going to happen and what ultimately is happening. I have no intentions or designs on becoming an agency beyond the marketing side of things. When it comes time for Jaxon to sign with an agent and turn professional, that person will not be me. That’s not what we’re here for.

Part of what Helium is built for and designed for is to help elevate our clients. Think about a balloon. A lot of times you look at a balloon and say, ‘I’ve got this balloon, I love this balloon, and I want to see it fly to its highest heights. I want to see what it’s capable of doing. But I don’t want to let go because if I let go, it’s no longer mine.’

Well, for me, every single one of our athletes at some point, we’re going to let them go. Our goal is we will put enough helium into that balloon that they will fly to their highest heights. It’s my job and my goal to put these guys in a position that the biggest agencies in the world will want them as clients when it comes time for them to be professional.

That’s my approach to it. I don’t feel that I’m in competition with those agencies. Yes, they are going to come into this space if they are not already in it. But I’m pretty confident in not only my abilities and our abilities as a firm, but I’m confident that the relationships and the strengths that I’ve had in this industry for almost two decades will outshine some of that.

Our goal as a firm is to build these players to the biggest of their potential. And guess what, if we’re talking about some of these major name companies, yeah they can come to you all day long and talk about the NBA guys they represent, but most of these high school guys won’t be their No. 1 client. We have the ability to treat each one of our clients the same way that those big-name companies treat their No. 1 draft picks because Jaxon is my No. 1 draft pick. That’s the way I view it.

SM: When Forbes.com reported that the deal between Jaxon Kohler and Helium could be worth six figures, do you see that potential based on a combination of social media posting and influencing and then maybe some Lansing-area ads and Detroit-area ads and some national social media? Am I right about that? is it a combination of things?

Brantley: Absolutely. I think it’s a combination. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that his value is in the six figure range. On3.com is a company that examines a lot of these valuations and they had (his NIL potential) at $24,000. That was their valuation of him without really understanding the market and the fanbase of Michigan State, without understanding the local market that we have, the corporations that exist within not just Metro Detroit but Michigan as a whole, and then without factoring in the personality and the type of person and the type of player Jaxon Kohler is. So I don’t think it’s unfathomable that he will hit the six figure mark.

My job and my goal in my conversations I’ve had with Jeff, Amber and Jackson is it’s not about the money. I’m going to under-promise and over-deliver in that regard but we are going to exceed the number that people are saying he is potentially worth. If we’re not making him money, then our firm no longer exists. So that’s kind of the goal there.

SM: I’m sure you’ve been watching Tom Izzo over the last couple of decades. He says he’s glad that players are getting something, and he says that he and his program will adjust and are adjusting to the new normal of NIL. Meanwhile, in speaking with Jeff Kohler, he says he doesn’t want any of this to be a distraction for Jaxon, and he says Jaxon doesn’t want this to be a distraction.

So how does this all dovetail with a college program? What is your approach to someone like Tom Izzo? Have you spoken with him? How does that work with all of this?

Brantley: I had a great working relationship with Dwayne Stephens and now he obviously is no longer there, he is now at Western Michigan. So I will reach out directly to Coach Izzo and have a conversation with him.

I echo Jeff’s sentiments. We don’t want to be a distraction. The less time Jaxon has to spend thinking and worrying about this side of it, the more he can just focus on school and basketball, and our team at Helium can work on identifying opportunities and things that exist so that it’s not on his mind.

I want Jaxon to wake up and think about what test he has today, what he has to do at practice and what he has to eat. Those have to be the three focuses - taking care of his body, taking care of his mind and taking care of his on-the-court responsibilities and in-class responsibilities. It’s our goal to offload the thought process of brand building.

SM: Have you spoken with Izzo about this recently?

Brantley: No. My last conversation with Coach Izzo was actually in regard to Rocket Watts. Me and Coach Stephens spoke regularly and I was excited about him coming to East Lansing because of my strong relationship with Dwayne. So I’ll be reaching out to Coach Izzo here today.

SM: I assume that the Kohlers let Izzo know that the signing of this contract was coming.

Brantley: I’m sure the conversation took place.

SM: Jaxon signed with your agency many months after signing with Michigan State, and just a few weeks ahead of enrolling at Michigan State. In the future, do you think we will see agencies representing high school players even before they pick colleges?

Brantley: In some states, it’s out there. Ohio just voted it down for their high school athletes. I wouldn’t expect to see Michigan vote positively in that direction this year. I think it’s coming. It’s a slippery slope, though. When you’re dealing with high school athletes, I think it’s tough. It’s definitely a different dynamic. But I read an article yesterday about LeBron James and some of the deals that were going on when he was in high school. So it’s not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination.

SM: Jaxon is graduating high school in the coming days. He is originally from Utah but is attending high school in California. So as a resident of California he was able to enter this contract?

Brantley: Yes, California high school prospects can enter into NIL marketing deals. I think there are nine states that have voted it in: New York, New Jersey, California, Utah, Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana and Nebraska.

SM: Are there other players that will be announcing in the near future that they have signed with Helium?

Brantley: That’s the plan. I have a couple of other guys that we’re aligned with, that we are having those conversations with. Unfortunately, they are not Michigan State Spartans. Those conversations, quite honestly, were put on pause because Jaxon was our No. 1 priority and we wanted to make sure that was done and finalized before we moved on.

SM: I have to ask you about Rocket Watts. I know he was on Michigan State’s campus a week or so ago, visiting former teammates and friends, after announcing several weeks ago that he is back in the transfer portal after leaving Mississippi State. Have you spoken with him lately?

Brantley: I have not had that conversation with him. I’m not sure what’s next. I hope that he finds the right fit. That’s vitally important.

That’s the thing that is overlooked when people talk about these NIL collectives and recruits choosing schools off of that. That doesn’t matter. If it’s not the right fit, you’re not going to be successful. It doesn’t matter how much money is involved, it doesn’t matter how much money is promised on the back end, if it’s not the right fit both academically, socially and athletically, success is impossible. So wherever he chooses, I hope it’s the right fit and I hope a major part of it is how does he fit into the culture of that campus, how does he align with the coaching staff.