Sammy Ekmark played tennis at Arizona State University.
Provided by Sammy Ekmark
Sammy Ekmark, 29, co-founded Ink’d Greetings, a personalized greetings and gift card company, in 2023 with her husband, Andrew. This was a major turning point from his previous career as a star tennis player.
Ekmark started playing the sport at age 10, and by the time he entered college, he was playing on Division I teams and individually ranked in the top 50 in singles in the United States.
“I was really focused on tennis. I was 92-0 in high school, so I never lost a match,” Ekmark said. “I played two and a half hours every day after school,” she said, adding that this was in addition to weekend games and tournaments.
Her goal was to become a professional tennis player, so she said she often prioritized sports over her studies and social life.
It didn’t take long for university recruiters to notice. As her high school graduation neared, she received many offers from universities across the country. Ultimately, she decided to attend Arizona State University (ASU). ASU gave her a full scholarship to attend the school and play on the Division 1 team.
Unfortunately, one night while participating in a late tennis tournament in college, Ekmark placed her foot incorrectly and tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), one of the major ligaments in her knee. This is known as a major sports injury.
“A lot of times, people think that an ACL (tear) is something that will make or break your career,” she said. “When I got injured…I had to take a year off and it was very difficult. Tennis was still my life, but it was difficult to get back to the shape I was before.”
Sammy and Andrew Ekmark, co-founders of Ink’d Greetings.
Provided by Sammy Ekmark
Ekmark recovered from the tear and resumed playing tennis, but along the way, she also became interested in business after taking an entrepreneurship class in college. Although she has dedicated much of her life to the sport, she ultimately decided to change direction and focus on building Ink’d Greetings.
Her business currently brings in more than $25,000 a month, according to documents seen by CNBC Make It.
Sports ‘involve extreme sacrifice’
Exmark’s story is similar to many other companies in the sports industry. Athletes, especially those who dream of one day going pro, spend years of blood, sweat, and tears training, often with the support of family members who help shoulder the time and financial burden.
In the U.S., parents spend an average of $3,000 a year on their children’s sports, and 64% report that costs have increased in recent years, according to a 2025 report from insurance company New York Life.
But less than 2% of the more than 500,000 athletes enrolled at National Collegiate Athletic Association schools are drafted into professional sports, according to NCAA data.
So the sport is, if you want to play at a high level, you have to make extreme sacrifices.
Sammy Ekmark
Co-founder of Ink’d Greetings
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t as serious about academics as I wanted to be…I came there for tennis, and I know probably a lot of athletes are like that,” Ekmark said. “So the sport is, if you want to play at a high level, you have to make extreme sacrifices…The margin for failure is very small.”
People who want to play professionally often have to prioritize their sport over everything else. So what happens to the 98% of NCAA student-athletes who don’t go pro? For some, life after sports can be very difficult.
“After graduation, there are a lot of mental health (issues) and some people go through an identity crisis,” Kate Fitzgerald, a former student-athlete and co-founder of Arizona State University’s student-athlete venture studio SPORTx, told CNBC Make It.
“A lot of athletes graduate with these great skill sets, but they don’t have the real corporate resume experience that they need to get a job. In some ways, they’re falling behind,” Fitzgerald said.
I think the best entrepreneurs are former athletes.
Sammy Ekmark
Co-founder of Ink’d Greetings
While many student-athletes are forced to play catch-up after college, Ekmark says the qualities that make a great athlete are the same qualities that make a great entrepreneur.
“I think the best entrepreneurs are former athletes,” she says.
new type of entrepreneur
In June 2024, the House of Representatives v. NCAA settlement was approved, ushering in a new era in the college sports industry, particularly in athlete compensation.
As a result of this landmark ruling, Division I college athletes who played from 2016 to 2025 will be owed $2.75 billion in back pay. Previously, athletes could not legally collect name, image, and likeness (NIL) from their schools.
According to a previous CNBC report, universities can now “spend up to $20.5 million a year to pay athletes directly, and that amount has increased by at least 4% in most years. Over the past four years, many star athletes have been paid on the side by the NIL Collective, but this officially marks the end of the era of amateurism.”
The NCAA has historically operated under this amateurism model, which limited the compensation that student-athletes could receive. Now, some agree that the new NIL environment will be great for student-athletes who want to become entrepreneurs or leverage their brands.
“The opportunity is greater than ever before because they can start[their entrepreneurial journey]while still being athletes,” Ekmark said.
“So the NIL (landscape) has created an opportunity to really prepare athletes for success in life after sports,” Fitzgerald said. In fact, today’s student-athletes can be compensated for advertising, commercials, and other deals that utilize their name, image, and likeness.
Universities are also stepping in to support athlete entrepreneurship, such as Arizona State University’s SPORTx program, which aims to mentor school athletes, help them navigate the new NIL environment, and start, build, scale, and grow their businesses.
“I think we need to start giving our athletes another path…and we need to start instilling that in their minds before they fail or don’t make it to the pros,” Ekmark said. “I think it needs to be done in college, like[some schools]are doing now, and I think starting a business is probably the best path.”
Want to level up your AI skills? Sign up for CNBC Make It’s new online course, “How to use AI to better communicate at work by Smarter by CNBC Make It.” Get specific prompts to optimize your emails, notes, and presentations for tone, context, and audience.
Plus, sign up for the CNBC Make It newsletter for tips and tricks to succeed at work, money, and life, and request to join our exclusive community on LinkedIn to connect with experts and colleagues.
