Help
Straight answers
The short version of how Next Up works. Anything unanswered, support@next-up-now.com reaches a human.
For fans & backers
How do I sign back in?
No passwords here, on purpose. Enter the email you joined with, we send you a sign-in link, tap it, and you are in. Same email you used the first time. No password exists for your account. That is not a bug, it is the lock.
What's a founding spot?
A free reservation on an athlete's page. It means you were there before the store opened. When their first card drops on November 1, founding backers get first claim, before anyone else.
Does backing someone cost money?
No. Claiming a founding spot is free. You are holding a place, not buying anything. Buying actual cards starts with the First Mint, and nothing is ever charged without you choosing it.
What's a cheer?
A one-tap way to show up for an athlete when they post an update. The athlete sees who cheered them on, your name right there in their corner. It is the simplest way to matter to someone's season before the store even opens.
What do the numbers on a card mean?
Every card carries four numbers. Sport is how the athlete performs against athletes at the same level and position. Reach is how many people are paying attention, counted as people and coverage, never as prices. Social is how engaged her community is. Next Up is the composite. The Confidence badge tells you how well-evidenced the stats behind a score are: Verified means official sources; Provisional means a newer athlete still adding receipts. Full explanation: next-up-now.com/seal.
What does a card cost?
The athlete sets the price of each card. The floor is $20 and there is no ceiling. A 6% marketplace service fee is added at checkout and shown before you pay. Cards are collectibles, not investments.
Where does the money go?
On a first sale the athlete keeps 80% of the price and Next Up keeps 20%. If you later resell a card, you keep 80% of what you sell it for, the athlete gets 10%, and Next Up gets 10%. The buyer of your card pays the same marketplace service fee you did. Payment goes through our payment processor, which pays each party directly; Next Up never holds your money or the athlete's.
Can I resell a card?
Yes, on Next Up, once the secondary market opens after the First Mint. Cards trade on the platform's own marketplace with fixed-price listings, offers, and auctions. They cannot be moved to outside marketplaces while the platform is running, which is what keeps the athlete's 10% enforceable.
Who holds my card?
You do. Each card is a token on Base, held in a collection that is created for you when you sign up and secured with a passkey. You do not need to know anything about crypto to use it.
Can I get a refund?
Cards are digital goods and a completed purchase is final, the same as a concert ticket. If a purchase fails partway, so that you were charged and the card was never delivered, we refund it.
What if Next Up shuts down?
The contract that holds the cards has a sunset clause. If the platform stops responding for long enough (a ninety-day heartbeat, then one hundred eighty days of silence, then a ninety-day release window), transfers open and every holder can move their cards anywhere. Nobody, including us, can switch that off. Your cards are yours whatever happens to the company.
My kid loves one of these athletes. Can they join?
Anyone, any age, can visit, read, and share athlete pages. No account needed, and that is most of what makes this fun. Accounts are 18 and over, and so is everything that comes with one: backing an athlete, cheering, and buying cards. Under 18, the way to be part of it is to follow the pages and share them. The one exception is on the athlete side: athletes aged 16 and 17 in the US can leave an email to pre-register for their 18th birthday.
Why did I get a daily email?
When athletes you back post updates, we bundle them into one daily digest, never more than one a day. Turn it off anytime with the unsubscribe link in the email or the toggle on your backing page.
What happens on First Mint day?
November 1 is when athletes mint their first sellable cards. Founding backers get first claim on the athletes they backed. We will email you. That is the moment your early support pays off.
For athletes
How do I sign back in?
No passwords here, on purpose. Enter the email you joined with, we send you a sign-in link, tap it, and you are in. Same email you used the first time. No password exists for your account. That is not a bug, it is the lock.
Who can join?
Athletes 18 and over, any sport, any level. Women-focused from day one, open to everyone. If you are under 18, leave your email at signup and we will be back on your 18th birthday.
What does it cost, and what do I keep?
Joining is free. When you sell cards, you keep 80% of every primary sale, and you earn a 10% royalty on every resale, forever. The split is between you and Next Up only; no school, agent, or coach takes a cut.
What is the minimum price?
$20 per card. You set the price above that. We suggest a range based on your Seal and the size of your first edition, and the suggestion is deliberately conservative. It is guidance, not a valuation.
When do I get paid?
Your 80% of every card sale settles when the sale does. Payments come through our payment processor and land in your connected bank account on its normal schedule, usually within two business days. Resale royalties settle the same way, each time a card trades. Your identity is verified before any payout; there are no anonymous sellers.
What about taxes?
You are selling your own product, so the money is income to you. If you are in the United States and your sales pass the IRS reporting threshold, you will get a 1099 from the payment processor at year end. We are not your tax adviser; if in doubt, ask one.
Does my school need to approve this?
Next Up is not an endorsement deal. You are selling a product with your own name on it to your own fans, which is first-party commerce. NCAA athletes are asked to report third-party NIL deals over $600 to NIL Go; most compliance offices do not treat a direct sale of your own product that way, but some read the rule broadly. If yours does, we give you an export for NIL Go and we will talk to your compliance office ourselves.
What happens to cards that do not sell?
When a drop's window closes, the unsold copies are burned. Every edition size on the site is the number that actually exists.
Do I need to make a card to have a page?
No. Your profile, your story, your sports, your photo, is complete on its own, and publishing it is the whole first step. Cards are a separate thing you create when you are ready, and not a minute before.
How do I raise my score and my Confidence?
Sport moves when you log games and attach receipts: an official results link, a scoreboard photo, a coach's confirmation. Reach grows as more people hold your cards and keep them, and as coverage of you grows. Social grows with engagement, not follower count. None of the three moves because of what a card sold for. Your Confidence grows with receipts: link official results, attach photos and video, and ask people who were there (especially opponents) to confirm what happened. The full playbook: next-up-now.com/seal.
Is my date of birth stored?
No. We use it once, at signup, to confirm you are 18 or older, then it is discarded. We keep only the fact that you were verified. It never appears on your page or anywhere else.
Who owns my page and my content?
You do. Your story, your photos, your name: yours. Cards use only content you control. Unpublish your page anytime from your home page; nothing is deleted and you can come back whenever.
Still stuck?
Email support@next-up-now.com. We read everything. To report a page that worries you, use the “Report this page” link at the bottom of that page and we will look within a day.