Services Provided: Creative Direction, Graphic Design, Photography, Videography, Campaign Development

Partnership Timeline: Summer 2021 – Present

The Challenge Young Money APAA Sports, founded by Lil Wayne and Adie Von Gontard, represents elite professional athletes worldwide and negotiates billions in contracts. However, to scale their digital footprint and attract top-tier talent across professional and NIL levels, they needed a cohesive, urban/ creative visual identity. The agency required a brand presence that efficiently bridged the gap between sports and entertainment while keeping up with the fast-paced news cycles of the NFL,NBA,and NCAA.

Richard Payne Studios stepped in to build and maintain the agency’s core visual system from the ground up. We designed a dynamic, scalable creative system built to handle high-volume athlete signings, draft cycles, and recruitment.

Our execution was divided into three core pillars:

1. Creative Direction We established a modern, high-energy visual system that positioned the agency at the direct intersection of sports and entertainment.

• Scalable Identity Systems: Developed adaptable frameworks for draft classes and high-volume recruitment cycles.
• Cultural Positioning: Designed a visual language that leveraged their unique sports-meets-entertainment DNA.
• Agile Execution: Implemented rapid-response design workflows to ensure consistent, high-quality visuals at the speed of sports media.

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2. Graphic Design We crafted custom, high-impact graphics and full campaign systems engineered to dominate social feeds and capture media attention.

• Comprehensive Draft Campaigns: Built full-scale NFL and NBA draft class rollouts, guiding the visual narrative from pre-draft declarations to final announcements.
• Recruitment & Signings: Designed premium announcement graphics for athletes across the NFL, NBA, and the collegiate/NIL landscape.
• Social-First Optimization: Created assets specifically engineered for high engagement, athlete reposts, and sports media syndication.

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3. Photography & Videography We provided the majority of the photo and video assets used across the agency’s high-stakes campaigns, capturing the raw emotion and energy of their roster.

• Draft Day Coverage: On-the-ground media capture at major draft events.
• Athlete Introductions: Produced high-end draft video content and motion graphics to formally introduce new talent to the agency's audience.
• Event Recaps: Shot and edited dynamic video recaps for agency-sponsored events and brand activations.

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The Impact

By treating the agency’s visual presence with the same elite standard as the athletes they represent, Richard Payne Studios helped drive undeniable growth and industry dominance.

• 137% Audience Growth: Scaled the agency's primary social platform from 50.9K to over 120K+ followers (+70K new followers).
• Massive Roster Expansion: Supported the agency's scaling efforts, growing the roster from under 100 athletes to 250+ represented athletes today.
• Established Authority: Solidified a commanding, instantly recognizable visual presence in the highly competitive sports representation industry.