You’re right. I’m projecting. I don’t know how athletes handle the pressure. But I did think that about Michael Jordan.
We really don’t know if Jordan & Woods were negatively impacted by pressure or that they simply proved that, outside of their extraordinary performance in their respective sports, they were human beings with human frailties like all of us.
In a perfect world there would be many NIL opportunities for WCBB players. But from the very start, most folks understood that the vast majority of college athletes were chasing small potatoes as social media influencers or doing adds for local car dealers and pizza joints.
Gatorade has been around for decades, this isn't something new. Someone mentioned Biosteel, now that would be something different because not many have heard of it.
Jchuskie, I don’t know why you are dismissing Gatorade as something not new, so I’m not responding to what you said. Maybe I would agree with you if I knew. But since you mentioned BioSteel, a company Azzi has an endorsement deal with, I want to respond to other people who regularly say, in relation to Paige, what about Azzi? Or they couch discussions about Paige in a larger idea of Paige and Azzi or Paige vs. Azzi. As if there are competing camps, Team Paige and Team Azzi.
hope you realize that deals are not given because of how "good" someone you think a player is. Fyi the most deals have gone to 2 gymnasts: Suni Lee, and Dunne. And for the women bb the 1st to get a deal where the Cavinder twins from Fresno state who didn't even make the tournament.
It's good that you bring that up. It's kind of depressing, from a sports point of view, that the Cavinder sisters are getting so much attention. I hope not more than Aliyah Boston. But in general, how "good" a player is has been an important reason why many players are getting endorsement deals. It seems unlikely that Azzi's deal with BioSteel, for example, would have happened had she not been considered a generational talent.
So Suni Lee’s deal had nothing to do with the fact that she won the Olympic All-Around gold medal in gymnastics? Beyond that, I strongly suspect that the Cavinder twins and Dunne will have a very limited period of time as social influencers before they are replaced by the next pretty faces.
I don't think there has been any dollar amounts disclosed on any of these NIL deals. The contracts are always described in nebulous hand wavy terms e.g. to promote growth in women's basketball whatever that means. The only one that seems to have a direct benefit spelled out in her deal is Azzi with unlimited free food from Chipotle. There just isn't a whole lot of transparency in the deal making. For all we know Paige is now earning between $0 and $100 million a year in NIL deal money plus how many ever Gatorades she can drink in a year. Geno makes $2.7 million per year, so it is possible Paige makes more than her coach - probably not the last time in her career that will happen.
This is true...but, as a basketball player, she will never be more valuable and marketable then she is as a college player. Women turn pro and get quickly forgotten about. I agree she probably will go, but I'm just playing devil's advocate for a reason she might stay.
because they don't care about the team, they care about followers.
Who exactly are you referring to?
the sponsors and promoters. You think they care about equality? No they care about making someone famous a symbol, a dollar sign. Not only that they have expectations to not fail because the person they are representing is an image of their business.
OK, I accept that. But that doesn’t diminish Paige’s talent, hard work and achievement in earning this opportunity.
Maybe some of our other "in the know" posters can offer up any additional news but to me, this is by far, the most significant NIL deal for a WCBB player. I guess Chipotle is nice for Azzi but not nearly as well known as Gatorade.
I know we have a game out in Oregon on Jan 17 so maybe Philip Knight and his marketing team is already planning on a meeting with Paige and her team...
As info, Stewie has the same agent as Paige, so their “people” are one in the same.
Yes .... I have long heard that pro players make more money overseas and off endorsements. NILs will I think take pressure off players to turn pro early.
Why would you stay and have to deal with basketball + school when you can just focus on basketball as your job and make the same money? If NIL money is orders of magnitude bigger then sure, but if Paige is making the same (or close to it) in or out of school, why stay and deal with all the extra encumbrances of being a student?
If I remember correctly that the CBA in the WNBA is only a four year deal and is to be renegotiated before the 2024 season begins, so it might be beneficial for Paige to stay for her Senior year. If she is the #1 pick in the WNBA and the CBA is changed to benefit the players like the last one, she will make more money under the new one.
