Athlete Platform Terms

Overview

These Athlete Platform Terms ("Athlete Terms") apply to every Athlete or content creator who registers on the Platform, and are part of and incorporated into GCN's TOS. They sit alongside the Platform Services Agreement and set out the commercial terms that apply to you specifically. They are not a representation agreement and signing them does not make GCN or any Affiliate your agent.

What GCN Provides

GCN provides a listing on the Platform, exposure to registered Brands, matching against campaign briefs, contracting and payment infrastructure, and an optional compliance review of sponsored content. GCN does not guarantee any campaign, any minimum income, any placement in matching results, or any renewal. GCN does not negotiate on your behalf unless you have a separate written representation agreement with a GCN Affiliate.

Commission

GCN's commission is the commission rate disclosed in the Platform at acceptance, applied to the gross value of each campaign you complete through the Platform, and deducted before payout. The commission applicable to a campaign is disclosed to you in the Platform before you accept it, and the figure disclosed at acceptance governs that campaign even if GCN's standard rate later changes. GCN will give you at least sixty (60) days' written notice before changing its standard commission rate, and the change will not apply to any campaign you accepted before the effective date. There is no charge to create a profile, to appear on the roster, or to decline a campaign.

Payment

You must complete Stripe onboarding, including identity verification and a valid IRS Form W-9 or Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, before you can receive a payout. Payment is released after you deliver and the Brand approves, or after the deliverable is deemed approved under the Platform Services Agreement, and in any event within ten (10) business days of approval, subject to Stripe's processing timelines. GCN may place a hold on a payout only on the grounds, and subject to the notice and thirty-day decision requirements, set out in the Payments section of the Platform Services Agreement.

Your Rate Card and Your Right to Decline

You set your own rates, including your per-post price and any monthly minimum or maximum, and you may change them at any time for campaigns not yet accepted. You may decline any campaign for any reason or for no reason, and declining will not affect your standing, your placement, or your eligibility for future campaigns. You may set category exclusions, such as alcohol, gambling, tobacco, firearms, supplements, or any other category you do not wish to work with, and GCN will not surface you for campaigns in an excluded category.

Deliverables, Revisions, and Cancellation

Unless the campaign brief says otherwise: you owe the deliverables described in the brief; a Brand may request up to two (2) rounds of revisions where the deliverable does not conform to the brief; and you retain ownership of your content, granting the Brand only the license described in the Campaign Agreement or, absent one, the default license in the Platform Services Agreement. If a Brand cancels an accepted campaign before you begin production, no fee is owed. If a Brand cancels after you have begun production but before delivery, you are owed fifty percent (50%) of the campaign value as a kill fee. If a Brand cancels after you have delivered a conforming deliverable, the full campaign value is owed. If you cancel an accepted campaign other than for the Brand's breach, GCN may cancel the campaign and no fee is owed to you.

Your Obligations

You will keep your profile accurate, including ranking, audience figures, and category tags, and you will not inflate or purchase engagement. You will disclose material connections clearly and conspicuously in accordance with the FTC Endorsement Guides and any applicable tour, league, or collegiate name, image, and likeness rules. You will not accept a campaign that conflicts with an existing exclusivity obligation, and you will make the representations set out in the Athlete Representations section of the Platform Services Agreement on each acceptance. You will not solicit or accept an off-Platform arrangement in order to avoid GCN's commission.

Your Name, Image, and Likeness

You retain all rights in your name, image, likeness, and voice. Your profile, including the photograph, biography, ranking, social handles, and follower counts you supply, is displayed publicly on the Platform roster and on your athlete page, and is visible to anyone on the internet without an account. Do not put anything in your profile you are not willing to publish. GCN's use of your content to operate the Platform is covered by the operational license in the Terms of Use. GCN's use of your name, image, or likeness in its own advertising or promotional materials, and any use of your content to train artificial-intelligence models, require your separate opt-in and may be revoked at any time by writing to legal@pickleballdealroom.com.

Independent Contractor; No Exclusivity

You are an independent contractor. You are not an employee, partner, joint venturer, or franchisee of GCN or of any Brand, and you are not entitled to employee benefits, workers' compensation, or unemployment insurance from GCN. You control how, when, and where you perform. The Platform is non-exclusive: you may work with any brand, agency, or platform you choose, including competitors of GCN, subject only to the Non-Circumvention obligations, which are a payment obligation to GCN and not a restriction on your right to work.

Ending Your Participation

You may close your account at any time, effective immediately for new campaigns. Campaigns you have already accepted must be completed or cancelled under the cancellation terms above. Amounts you have earned and that a Brand has approved remain payable regardless of why your account closed, and that obligation is not subject to any limitation of liability in the TOS. On closure GCN will remove your public profile promptly and handle your remaining data as described in the Privacy Policy.

Where these Athlete Terms conflict with a separate written representation agreement between you and a GCN Affiliate, the representation agreement controls as between you and that Affiliate. Where they conflict with the Platform Services Agreement on a matter specific to Athletes, these Athlete Terms control.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE COMPANY PARTIES BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, INCLUDING LOSS OF DATA, REVENUE, OR GOODWILL, REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL THEORY ASSERTED. THE COMPANY PARTIES' AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (I) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100) OR (II) THE TOTAL FEES AND COMMISSIONS YOU PAID TO GCN IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. THIS CAP DOES NOT APPLY TO, AND NOTHING IN THESE TOU LIMITS: (A) GCN'S OBLIGATION TO REMIT CAMPAIGN PAYMENTS EARNED BY AN ATHLETE AND APPROVED BY A BRAND; (B) GCN'S OWN FRAUD, GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT; (C) GCN'S INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATIONS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THE BRAND SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT; OR (D) ANY LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

ANY CLAIM ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE MUST BE BROUGHT WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR OF THE DATE YOU KNEW OR REASONABLY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, EXCEPT THAT THIS LIMITATION DOES NOT APPLY TO A CLAIM FOR UNPAID CAMPAIGN COMPENSATION OR TO ANY CLAIM WHERE A SHORTENED LIMITATIONS PERIOD IS PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE PERIOD IS TOLLED WHILE THE INFORMAL RESOLUTION PROCESS IN THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SECTION IS PENDING. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR DAMAGES; SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.