After Football, Now What? Engineering Athletic Genius for the AI Economy

BeSkilled Academy transforms an NFL veteran, Super Bowl champions, and a DJ into Techfluencers™—joining investors, executives, and innovators at the 3rd Annual Dinner & DealFlow during CES 2027.

ATLANTA and SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year, thousands of professional football players face the end of their playing careers. While physical careers have expiration dates, elite athletic attributes—tactical mastery, rapid decision-making under pressure, and relentless discipline—do not.

BeSkilled Academy is changing that trajectory with Beyond The Game (With AI)—a high-impact, 30-hour AI literacy and workforce transformation protocol created by futurist and entrepreneur Mike Johns. The initiative converts raw athletic instinct into strategic digital leadership, equipping former athletes and creative visionaries with certified BeSkilled AI literacy to command the modern digital economy as official Techfluencers™.

"Athletes spend decades perfecting physical execution, but their true edge has always been cognitive," said Mike Johns, Founder of BeSkilled America. "We give them the enterprise AI capabilities to lead as Techfluencers™ driving crucial conversations across technology, human performance, mental health, wellness, and football."

Inside the 30-Hour BeSkilled Curriculum

Across 20 intensive virtual sprints, participants advanced from foundational AI literacy to high-leverage operational execution using cutting-edge enterprise platforms including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Copilot. Key topics mastered include:

• Introduction to AI: Foundations, macro-trends, and industry impact
  
  
• Prompting Mastery: Structured Prompting, Context Frameworks, and Prompt Engineering 2.0
  
  
• iCreate Tools of Mass Production: Generating AI Video, Audio/Music, and Visual Graphics
  
  
• The Creator Economy: Constructing scalable, sustainable content engines
  
  
• Responsible AI & Ethics: Navigating algorithmic integrity, bias, and digital governance
  
  
• Workflows & Autonomous Agents: Streamlining operations with enterprise email agents

Inducting the Inaugural Beyond The Game™ Class

As the premier cohort to complete the protocol, the following graduates are officially inducted into Beyond The Game™:

• Anthony Smith — 2x Super Bowl Champion (Steelers, Packers) & Development Coach
  
  
• Dominique Easley — Super Bowl XLIX Champion (Patriots, Rams)
  
  
• Greg Fassitt — Super Bowl XLIV Champion (Saints)
  
  
• Julius Williams — Professional Football Veteran (Jacksonville Jaguars)
  
  
• EJTHEDJ — NYC's Very Own DJ & Content Creator

"In football, success comes down to preparation and reading the defense," said Anthony Smith, 2x Super Bowl Champion. "AI is simply the ultimate new playbook, giving us the exact tools needed to build scalable ventures for our next chapter."

Meet the Techfluencers™ at CES 2027

The entire inaugural cohort will be live at CES 2027 and featured at the 3rd Annual Dinner & DealFlow on Wednesday, January 6, 2027, in Las Vegas.

Dinner & DealFlow is an exclusive, invitation-only gathering of influential technologists, enterprise executives, venture investors, policymakers, and media leaders—convening for an intimate evening of candid conversation, strategic dealmaking, and high-value collaboration.

• Request an Invitation: Contact [email protected]
  
  
• Dinner & DealFlow Partnership Inquiries: Contact [email protected]

About BeSkilled Academy

BeSkilled Academy delivers practical, human-centered AI literacy, workforce transformation, and executive upskilling designed to position elite performers for high-leverage roles in an AI-driven global economy.

Media Contact:

Mike Johns, Founder — BeSkilled America
Evita Monroe, Executive Strategist to Mike Johns
[email protected] | 708.953.4858

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SOURCE BeSkilled America