The month of March is an important time for college basketball players in the U.S., for male and female athletes alike, as sports fans across the country watch and attend basketball tournaments that are broadcasted nationally.
The events also offer more exposure for young athletes to get the attention they deserve. In fact, tournaments draw in so many crowds that they’ve given the month a new name to be known by, “March Madness.”
If we look back historically, basketball tournaments made players like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Nevertheless, college athletes were not allowed to make money from their fame until becoming professionals or joining the National Basketball Association. After they make it to the big leagues, they can then easily get paid by their teams while also bagging partnerships from sportswear companies for advertising or brand promotion.
Thanks to a supreme court ruling, American college athletes now make money from their fame. However, sports events part of March Madness are often only beneficial for male athletes. Fame and fortune aren’t necessarily as easily attained for female athletes. how do female college athletes make money?
Name, Image, License Deals
Also known as NIL deals, Name, Image License Deals help female athletes make money by allowing businesses to use their name, image, and likeness to sell a product. NCAA recently decided to allow college athletes to profit from NIL deals, and as a result, many female college athletes are becoming wealthy at the early age of 20.
While not all female athletes become wealthy, they do end up with some money to fall back on, or at least tickets to endorse brands for free products. This means they get to save up even if they don’t have a long sports career.
The NIL deals are a blessing for female athletes who often don’t have as many opportunities as their male counterparts for making money after college. So, maybe the next time you order prescription sunglasses online, check whether it is part of a NIL deal, and try to support the female athlete.
How Does it Work?
Most deals require the female college athlete to post messages on social media apps like Instagram and TikTok to reach fans. Otherwise, the students will appear in advertisements for business in exchange for money. A few businesses also offer students money so they can use their names or faces on clothing items.
Cashing In
A lot of female athletes are already cashing in on this opportunity. For instance, take Olivia Dunne. A 19-year-old gymnast at Louisiana State University, she has nearly 6 million followers on Instagram and TikTok combined. In fact, she is the most followed student-athlete on social media.
According to The Associated Press, she has around 10 NIL deals, including the activewear brand Vuori and plant-based wellness company PlantFuel. She is predicted to reach $1 million in NIL deals by the time she finishes her freshman year.
Similarly, Uconn basketball star Azzi Fudd and Georgia softball Jaiden Fields are now Chipotle’s first-ever college athlete ambassadors. Through their partnership, they promote Chipotle’s “Real Food For Real Athletes” platform, which focuses on helping athletes of all levels do their best through real food and real ingredients.
Aliyah Boston, a South Carolina basketball star, recently inked her first partnership with Bojangles, a regional fast-food chicken chain. With her considerable social media following of 36K on Instagram and basketball credentials—First Team All-American in 2021—she is likely to attract other NIL opportunities as well in the near future. Boston is signed with NIL agency Octagon Basketball, the same company representing Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith.
Lexi Sun, a volleyball player from the University of Nebraska, has chosen deals that let her express her personal style. She has signed sponsorships with Borsheims and REN Athletics. And for partnership with Borsheims, Lexi Sun came up with a unique jewelry collection, and for REN Athletics, she custom-designed a sweatshirt which quickly got sold out. Sun was the first female athlete from Nebraska to land a NIL deal.
A Bright Future
With NCAA’s new policies, female student-athletes are definitely off to a better tomorrow. With so many female athletes already profiting off their name, image, and likeness, the game of college sports is changing forever. All this proves the profitability of women’s sports.
