Paige better get her signing hand ready this summer

[hoopsfan22]

Golf was in the doldrums prior to Tiger. Tiger brought an energy to golf along with his skills. Bueckers has that same charismatic personality. Young females follow her and young women are a powerful consumer group.
As someone posted Tiger wasn't a hall of famer or grand slam winner when Nike signed him.

If Bueckers gets 10% of that she will be rich. Maybe not Scrooge McDuck rich but certainly Richie Rich rich.

Golf is more popular than women's basketball. It's why it has dedicated channels on cable and the tournaments get national coverage. Women's basketball gets low production value games "broadcast" on twitter or facebook. People show up to watch golf. Women's basketball has trouble putting 5,000 butts in seats. Women's basketball doesn't even get a spot on ESPN's masthead. What sports do they have: NFL, NBA, MLB, Soccer, and Golf. Women's basketball fans can go dig for coverage. Golf appeals to the highly coveted 18-34 demographic. Women's basketball mostly appeals to the 55+ crowd. After all the UConn greats before Paige have accomplished, still no one is paying any of them the big bucks, but somehow Paige who has been on the scene for five minutes has higher value than all of those guys? Don't think so. If Stewie can't land a massive contract, then Paige probably won't. Plus Paige-mania will be tempered next season as she is forced to play less minutes and share the limelight with potentially an even bigger star in Azzi. And as far as social media goes... that money has been drying up unless you're a top influencer or celebrity with tens or hundreds of millions of followers, and even then the going rate these days for a sponsored post is a whopping $3 per 1,000 followers and that's before the taxman takes his cut.

 

[CL82]

I think you might be over valuing

but I appreciate your addition to this discussion.

I appreciate you too, but take a look at the data:

Out of both men and women Paige’s Instagram followers are over twice her nearest competitor. Over 3/4 of a million people follow Paige. That’s over twice her nearest competitor among other all Americans. That is very very significant brand value and viewers equates to advertising value.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Hailey Van Lith has nearly as many followers as Paige, and with a boyfriend like Jaylen Suggs is poised to garner even more attention.

 

[Alydar]

"the going rate these days for a sponsored post is a whopping $3 per 1,000 followers"

So if you have say 800K followers you gross $2400/ post? It ain't Lebron money but 5 posts a week is about 50K per month.

 

[hoopsfan22]

So if you have say 800K followers you gross $2400/ post? It ain't Lebron money but 5 posts a week is about 50K per month.

Yeah but no single company will sponsor that many posts, and the pay rate will obviously depend on the product/company. Could definitely see sports/performance products and athletic wear allocating some money to the NIL crowd, but yeah not gonna be LeBron bucks. Unlike him, Paige will still have to play overseas in her off-seasons once she goes pro.

 

[wolfe613]

In 1996 Nike jumped on an upcoming 21 year old athlete, giving him a $40 million, 5 year endorsement deal, after he left college following his sophomore year. 5 years later, Nike gave him a $100 million deal. That athlete was Tiger Woods. The deal with Nike was signed before Tiger had won a single major championship. I can absolutely see Nike, Puma or Addidas in a bidding war to sign Paige to a long term endorsement deal that will make her a very rich young lady.

Horrible comparison, nobody is gonna give that type of money to a sport that can't even get quality ratings in the Wnba and loses money in the Ncaa tournament and as much as I like Paige, there's always someone in college that is the new flavor of the month. Remember when ESPN was hyping the 3 to see? Griner, Della Donne, and Skylar Diggins being the most focused. I being fan was just watching because they were fun to see, but many watched because they found Diggins attractive. And then Stewart was there four years and then Ionescu. Wbb I'm fan of but I know what happens once players graduate. They don't get the same attention in the pro's or when someone new comes in college they get overlooked cause ppl say saw that already

 

[wolfe613]

I appreciate you too, but take a look at the data:
View attachment 68045
Out of both men and women Paige’s Instagram followers are over twice her nearest competitor. Over 3/4 of a million people follow Paige. That’s over twice her nearest competitor among other all Americans. That is very very significant brand value and viewers equates to advertising value.

Maybe cause some players are not active in social media and just want to play the sport they love? To out in perspective some player on Michigan basketball who doesn't even play has one million followers on tik tok. Is he gonna get paid big bucks even though he doesn't play?

 

[oldude]

Horrible comparison, nobody is gonna give that type of money to a sport that can't even get quality ratings in the Wnba and loses money in the Ncaa tournament and as much as I like Paige, there's always someone in college that is the new flavor of the month. Remember when ESPN was hyping the 3 to see? Griner, Della Donne, and Skylar Diggins being the most focused. I being fan was just watching because they were fun to see, but many watched because they found Diggins attractive. And then Stewart was there four years and then Ionescu. Wbb I'm fan of but I know what happens once players graduate. They don't get the same attention in the pro's or when someone new comes in college they get overlooked cause ppl say saw that already

How often do you watch gymnastics or women’s swimming, and yet Simone Biles & Katie Ledecky are millionaires off of their NIL. Do you know who they are?

As for nobody giving money to a sport that nobody watches. Evidently Puma disagrees with you, having just signed Stewie to a multi-million $ contract for a signature shoe deal.

None of the players you mentioned had NIL available to them in college, and none of them had Paige’s potential brand upside. Let’s see how NIL unfolds before we determine that top WBB players will be overlooked or forgotten.

 

[Bald Husky]

Maybe cause some players are not active in social media and just want to play the sport they love? To out in perspective some player on Michigan basketball who doesn't even play has one million followers on tik tok. Is he gonna get paid big bucks even though he doesn'

 

[wolfe613]

How often do you watch gymnastics or women’s swimming, and yet Simone Biles & Katie Ledecky are millionaires off of their NIL. Do you know who they are?

As for nobody giving money to a sport that nobody watches. Evidently Puma disagrees with you, having just signed Stewie to a multi-million $ contract for a signature shoe deal.

None of the players you mentioned had NIL available to them in college, and none of them had Paige’s potential brand upside. Let’s see how NIL unfolds before we determine that top WBB players will be overlooked or forgotten.

they didn't make their money in college, they made it in the Olympics. Just like Women's soccer, they don't make it cause of their lg, they make cause it cause they play for TEAM USA in the World cup and Olympics

 

[oldude]

they didn't make their money in college, they made it in the Olympics. Just like Women's soccer, they don't make it cause of their lg, they make cause it cause they play for TEAM USA in the World cup and Olympics

How do you explain Stewie?

 

[Bald Husky]

This whole conversation has been interesting, insightful, entertaining, but sometimes exhausting. Until July 1 comes, I don't think anyone really knows what is allowed and what is not. On another note, one other poster, I apologize I can't remember who, brought up the jealousy factor. We know it exists in the pro ranks with Jordon and Lebron, so is it possible this can cause a problem in the college ranks also? With all the very good players we have, team chemistry is vital, and this has been a trademark of UConn basketball since the beginning. I just hope that Paige, and probably Azzi are mature enough to handle the pressure of the added notoriety and the pressure of performing along side of their teammates to work together for the real goal of this team, and that is to secure a NC.

 

[CL82]

Yeah but no single company will sponsor that many posts, and the pay rate will obviously depend on the product/company. Could definitely see sports/performance products and athletic wear allocating some money to the NIL crowd, but yeah not gonna be LeBron bucks. Unlike him, Paige will still have to play overseas in her off-seasons once she goes pro.

I think it’s a mistake to view posts as a be all in the end-all of revenue. Instead look at it as an indicator of brand value.

 

[Heytherego]

I think many of you are missing the point. I understand the concerns of players signing silly contracts with “onnadoz 'sports gambling' companies” However, many kids their age are already making TONS off social media. Making simple tik toks can generate thousands of dollars. It’s not just about brand deals, it’s about being able to make money simply off your name, even just through simple funny videos (Tik tok creator fund).
And those worried about team chemistry, guess what Paige is the most well known college player right now, money or no money. You’d have to consider that also would have some effect on chemistry, but it seems to be going fine. Teammates value their teammates being successful. The kids Geno recruits seem to have excellent character so I really don’t see that being a problem for our program. And they will also be able to generate deals/larger followings through this just by being surrounded by a PB. Many players and their families could really benefit from this. It’s not right that colleges turn millions of dollars off these kids, it’s about time they see some of the profit. And if we can keep players such as a PB here longer through this, I’m all for that.

 

[blackbird]

1. About time.
2. Paige has a few highly popular social media accounts, those will make her the most money.
3. we should all be super happy for these women. Their highest income potential for endorsements are in college - when they aren’t allowed to earn anything. This will help women significantly.

 

[Heytherego]

And as far as social media goes... that money has been drying up unless you're a top influencer or celebrity with tens or hundreds of millions of followers, and even then the going rate these days for a sponsored post is a whopping $3 per 1,000 followers and that's before the taxman takes his cut.

I’m sorry but this is absolutely FALSE. The money in social media is only increasing, because social media is only getting bigger. I’ve seen people with a few thousand follows have paid promotional videos. Not only can they generate revenue, companies also gift them things.
Here are some stats to back that up based off a simple google search...
You need a minimum of 1,000 YouTube subscribers and about 24 million yearly views to generate $100,000.
You need a minimum of 5,000 Instagram followers and 308 sponsored posts a year to generate $100,000.
You need a minimum of 10,000 TikTok subscribers and over 270 million views a year to generate $100,000.

Paige has 300k+ followers only on Tik Tok and on a SINGLE video she has 1.2 million views. Paige really barely posts on Tik tok and averages about 800k views a video. If she posted a video everyday for a month and kept that average she’d already be at 24 million views (which would get her $100k, IN A MONTH). And again with PB’s following I’m sure she’ll have the opportunity to sign endorsement deals, get paid promotional posts and be gifted things from companies. The kid can make bank from social media, those stating otherwise are honestly just not up to date.
And again PB doing this, will only help generate followings to her teammates which will in turn grant them similar opportunities to cash in on their name. So to sum it up, anyone can make money off social media, you do not need to be a celebrity. You could even have a couple thousand followers, but if you market yourself the option is always there.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I think it’s a mistake to view posts as a be all in the end-all of revenue. Instead look at it as and indicator of brand value.

Do you think her brand is worth more than Stewie's, Bird's, Taurasi's, or Parker's all of whom have spent years cultivating theirs and accomplishing so much professionally to get to that point? If so, why?

 

[oldude]

I’m sorry but this is absolutely FALSE. The money in social media is only increasing, because social media is only getting bigger. I’ve seen people with a few thousand follows have paid promotional videos. Not only can they generate revenue, companies also gift them things.
Here are some stats to back that up based off a simple google search...
You need a minimum of 1,000 YouTube subscribers and about 24 million yearly views to generate $100,000.
You need a minimum of 5,000 Instagram followers and 308 sponsored posts a year to generate $100,000.
You need a minimum of 10,000 TikTok subscribers and over 270 million views a year to generate $100,000.

Paige has 300k+ followers only on Tik Tok and on a SINGLE video she has 1.2 million views. Paige really barely posts on Tik tok and averages about 800k views a video. If she posted a video everyday for a month and kept that average she’d already be at 24 million views (which would get her $100k, IN A MONTH). And again with PB’s following I’m sure she’ll have the opportunity to sign endorsement deals, get paid promotional posts and be gifted things from companies. The kid can make bank from social media, those stating otherwise are honestly just not up to date.
And again PB doing this, will only help generate followings to her teammates which will in turn grant them similar opportunities to cash in on their name. So to sum it up, anyone can make money off social media, you do not need to be a celebrity. You could even have a couple thousand followers, but if you market yourself the option is always there.

And I’m guessing if those 800k views of Paige’s tik tok videos, a good 799,000 or so are from BY’ers………….

 

[Heytherego]

And I’m guessing if those 800k views of Paige’s tik tok videos, a good 799,000 or so are from BY’ers………….

I’m at least 100k of them..

 

[oldude]

Do you think her brand is worth more than Stewie's, Bird's, Taurasi's, or Parker's all of whom have spent years cultivating theirs and accomplishing so much professionally to get to that point? If so, why?

Yes

 

[hoopsfan22]

I’m sorry but this is absolutely FALSE. The money in social media is only increasing, because social media is only getting bigger. I’ve seen people with a few thousand follows have paid promotional videos. Not only can they generate revenue, companies also gift them things.
Here are some stats to back that up based off a simple google search...
You need a minimum of 1,000 YouTube subscribers and about 24 million yearly views to generate $100,000.
You need a minimum of 5,000 Instagram followers and 308 sponsored posts a year to generate $100,000.
You need a minimum of 10,000 TikTok subscribers and over 270 million views a year to generate $100,000.

Paige has 300k+ followers only on Tik Tok and on a SINGLE video she has 1.2 million views. Paige really barely posts on Tik tok and averages about 800k views a video. If she posted a video everyday for a month and kept that average she’d already be at 24 million views (which would get her $100k, IN A MONTH). And again with PB’s following I’m sure she’ll have the opportunity to sign endorsement deals, get paid promotional posts and be gifted things from companies. The kid can make bank from social media, those stating otherwise are honestly just not up to date.
And again PB doing this, will only help generate followings to her teammates which will in turn grant them similar opportunities to cash in on their name. So to sum it up, anyone can make money off social media, you do not need to be a celebrity. You could even have a couple thousand followers, but if you market yourself the option is always there.

It isn't false. Even Charli D'Amelio "only" makes $4 million a year and she's one of the most popular non-celebrities on the planet. Go look at what the top non-celebrity influencers make. There are plenty of data points out there to see the reality on the ground. Look, I'm not saying you can't make a nice living off of it, but you have to be in the top 0.000001% of creators to do that and those aren't great odds. Most make very little. You sound kind of young, like my little brother who wants to drop out of school because he swears he can be the next Logan Paul. Thankfully my parents are rooted in reality a little more than he is.

 

[wolfe613]

It isn't false. Even Charli D'Amelio "only" makes $4 million a year and she's one of the most popular non-celebrities on the planet. Go look at what the top non-celebrity influencers make. There are plenty of data points out there to see the reality on the ground. Look, I'm not saying you can't make a nice living off of it, but you have to be in the top 0.000001% of creators to do that and those aren't great odds. Most make very little. You sound kind of young, like my little brother who wants to drop out of school because he swears he can be the next Logan Paul. Thankfully my parents are rooted in reality a little more than he is.

agreed and on top of that is their job, like I said my biggest fear in this is that kids are going to say the hell with the sport I play, if I can make money just posting social media and being good enough in sport because some ppl with god given talent can do it, why are they going to spend all their energy outside of practice on working on their game? If Social media is what is making them money and content is needed that's what they're going to focus on

 

[bluedevil]

Turning back to Paige (yes I said that) I want her to make lots of money at Uconn. And as a suggestion to Paige if she really wants to become a legend..use a little of that money to endow a future scholly to maybe a walk on each season or maybe to a disadvantaged student who wants to become a future Uconn student. To me if she does that her legacy will be greater than wins vs Providence, Seton Hall, Georgetown, St John's and the rest of the little dippers in the conference.

 

[oldude]

It isn't false. Even Charli D'Amelio "only" makes $4 million a year and she's one of the most popular non-celebrities on the planet. Go look at what the top non-celebrity influencers make. There are plenty of data points out there to see the reality on the ground. Look, I'm not saying you can't make a nice living off of it, but you have to be in the top 0.000001% of creators to do that and those aren't great odds. Most make very little. You sound kind of young, like my little brother who wants to drop out of school because he swears he can be the next Logan Paul. Thankfully my parents are rooted in reality a little more than he is.

Your example makes my point. I and millions of other people have never heard of Charli D’Amelio. She’s not on Sports Center or Slam Magazine and I wouldn’t know her if I bumped into her on the street, and yet she’s making $4 million a year off of her NIL.

There are 7.8 billion people on the planet. Let’s say 1% of those people follow WBB. That’s 78 million people around the world. Before you suggest that number is too high, it’s estimated that 100 million people in China alone follow WBB.

UConn has an incredible fan base in the US as well as overseas. We know that both Anna and Nika followed UConn WBB for years prior to being recruited.

So let’s say that Nike comes up with a signature shoe brand for Paige. Of those 78 million WBB fans around the world, let’s say 1% end up purchasing Paige Bueckers signature shoes at $50 a pair. That’s 780,000 pairs of shoes generating $39 million in revenue for Nike.

So what is it worth to Nike if 1/100th of 1% of the people on planet earth can be favorably influenced to purchase Nike shoes based on a marketing campaign for Paige Bueckers? Just asking.

 

[CL82]

Do you think her brand is worth more than Stewie's, Bird's, Taurasi's, or Parker's all of whom have spent years cultivating theirs and accomplishing so much professionally to get to that point? If so, why?

No, she's still a teenager. She isn't better than the names that are bandied about as the three greatest players of all time ... uh, and Parker. (BTW, how does Parker get on that list? "One of these things is different than the others...") But the very fact that those are the names that you chose to compare Paige with Stewie, Bird and Taurasi speaks volumes, doesn't it?

Now, the question you should have asked is will Paige have greater brand value than Stewie, Bird and Taurasi eventually? Who knows, but she certainly does compared to them at the same age doesn't she?

One final observation, FWIW, Instagram followers:

Paige 755,000
Bird 540,000
Stewie 256,000
Taurasi 144,000

Again, IG followers is not the be all and end all, but they are a very interesting snap shot of the space Paige occupies in the public's mind.