What's up with Paige and NIL?

[oldude]

Many college athletes have announced NIL deals with sponsors including Azzi (Chipolte) and Liv (Fabletics}. Thus far Paige has hired an agent (Lindsay Colas) and trademarked Paige Buckets, but to date, there hasn't been any major endorsement deal announced for possibly the most marketable athlete in college sports. In the attached article, Paige hints at something in the works for the start of the season. Stay tuned.

Bueckers' NIL Hesitancy - Front Office Sports

 

[AgStatesman]

At the very least, not making this NIL stuff look like an immediate money grab is brilliant strategy. I am positive she is doing it the "right" way, whatever that is, and when she does launch, it will be big big big!

The article opens with, "But while other athletes of a similar caliber have been cashing in." Simply put, there are NO other athletes in college who come close to rising to her caliber. She is in a category all her own. As long as her game continues to cooperate, she will be the most famous athlete in the world in fairly short order.

 

[eebmg]

At the very least, not making this NIL stuff look like an immediate money grab is brilliant strategy. I am positive she is doing it the "right" way, whatever that is, and when she does launch, it will be big big big!

The article opens with, "But while other athletes of a similar caliber have been cashing in." Simply put, there are NO other athletes in college who come close to rising to her caliber. She is in a category all her own. As long as her game continues to cooperate, she will be the most famous athlete in the world in fairly short order.

If you are her agent, you are very good. Expect a call from LeBron.

 

[Sonny44]

Is this basketball?

 

[hoopsfan22]

LOL most famous athlete in the world? She's not even that well known in Connecticut.

 

[jchusky]

LOL most famous athlete in the world? She's not even that well known in Connecticut.

Nil was meant for football players and female athletes that were considered hot. The first 2 big female deals were Cavinder twins and their team isn't even a tournament team and the other was Olivia Dunne.

 

[oldude]

Nil was meant for football players and female athletes that were considered hot. The first 2 big female deals were Cavinder twins and their team isn't even a tournament team and the other was Olivia Dunne.

While that is certainly an element of NIL, I think it misses the bigger picture. For most college athletes NIL is only about leveraging their social media presence. For a small handful like Paige, there are significant opportunities in conventional print & television media with big name companies like Nike, McDonalds & Visa.

I will again raise the example of Athing Mu. While not technically subject to NIL, as she turned pro during her freshman year in college, Mu signed a multi year, 7-figure contract with Nike prior to the Olympics, going on to win two gold medals. At the age of 19 she is already a millionaire.

 

[augustaTC]

Not to be rude, but I'm becoming weary of Paige this, Paige that, Paige all the time. God love her and boy I sure do and can't wait to see her play again, but tired of the same old rehash of old news or no news. Please season, start soon!

 

[oldude]

Not to be rude, but I'm becoming weary of Paige this, Paige that, Paige all the time. God love her and boy I sure do and can't wait to see her play again, but tired of the same old rehash of old news or no news. Please season, start soon!

The other day there was yet another BY thread on the upcoming season, specifically predicting the 64-team bracket for March Madness before a single game had been played.

I registered my objection to one more preseason WBB prediction, only to be called out by a long time BY’er who suggested that I didn’t have to read the thread. After giving it some thought, I decided he was right…..

 

[D J B]

Not to be rude, but I'm becoming weary of Paige this, Paige that, Paige all the time. God love her and boy I sure do and can't wait to see her play again, but tired of the same old rehash of old news or no news. Please season, start soon!

On this first page of the forum, there are a total of 51 threads. 8 of them directly relate to Paige, most of which are not old news as they refer to something that happened this week, and they can otherwise be scrolled past. That leaves 43 threads about many other things, none directly related to Paige. Surely there must be something else to read.

 

[CL82]

Not to be rude, but I'm becoming weary of Paige this, Paige that, Paige all the time. God love her and boy I sure do and can't wait to see her play again, but tired of the same old rehash of old news or no news. Please season, start soon!

Perhaps you should avoid threads with her name in the title? Just a thought.

 

[Kaizen]

If you are her agent, you are very good. Expect a call from LeBron.

I heard Stephen Curry and LeBron James are biding for working with Paige. Well just my pure inside imagination...

 

[oldude]

I heard Stephen Curry and LeBron James are biding for working with Paige. Well just my pure inside imagination...

Actually, Curry is not out of the question. Paige has been to his camp and I could see her joining him in a Subway commercial, where Curry is already a spokesperson. She and Azzi would have the fast food market covered.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Thus far Paige has hired an agent (Lindsay Colas) and trademarked Paige Buckets, but to date, there hasn't been any major endorsement deal announced for possibly the most marketable athlete in college sports. In the attached article, Paige hints at something in the works for the start of the season. Stay tuned.

Perhaps she believes if UCONN wins #12 her market value will soar. Will #12 give her better leverage in a NIL negotiation?

 

[oldude]

Perhaps she believes if UCONN wins #12 her market value will soar. Will #12 give her better leverage in a NIL negotiation?

Interesting thought. Technically, NIL deals can not be tied to performance, unlike Athing Mu’s deal which included a considerable incentive for her Olympic performance.

Paige’s agent has indicated that she is looking for long term deals that will bridge her client right into the pros. That sounds like a 5 year deal to me. If Nike is smart, they will sign a deal with Paige now, before she racks up 2-3 national championships, which would escalate the price tag considerably.

 

[jchusky]

Interesting thought. Technically, NIL deals can not be tied to performance, unlike Athing Mu’s deal which included a considerable incentive for her Olympic performance.

Paige’s agent has indicated that she is looking for long term deals that will bridge her client right into the pros. That sounds like a 5 year deal to me. If Nike is smart, they will sign a deal with Paige now, before she racks up 2-3 national championships, which would escalate the price tag considerably.

you think Uconn will win the next 3 ntl titles? Assuming she stays after jr season

 

[oldude]

you think Uconn will win the next 3 ntl titles? Assuming she stays after jr season

Sure. Why not?

 

[jchusky]

Sure. Why not?

I just can't fathom that Stewart dominance anymore. Other schools have caught up in recruiting and the transfer portal used as a tool to level the playing field with Uconn. I look at Stanford getting Betts and possibly Kiki, South Carolina is not going anywhere they just had the best recruiting class in the country. And in two seasons I expect Kara Lawson and Ivey from Notre Dame to be big players. Follow that with teams like Louisville who will be very experienced and Iowa with Clark.

 

[oldude]

I just can't fathom that Stewart dominance anymore. Other schools have caught up in recruiting and the transfer portal used as a tool to level the playing field with Uconn. I look at Stanford getting Betts and possibly Kiki, South Carolina is not going anywhere they just had the best recruiting class in the country. And in two seasons I expect Kara Lawson and Ivey from Notre Dame to be big players. Follow that with teams like Louisville who will be very experienced and Iowa with Clark.

I agree that the level of talent throughout WBB is better than ever. Teams like Stanford and SC will be powerhouses each and every season going forward.

At the same time, UConn’s roster is arguably deeper, more experienced and more talented than any Husky team ever, and that will continue for several seasons to come. It certainly won’t be easy, but if Geno has the talent, he’s still capable of running off several championships in a row.

 

[Bills Fan]

you think Uconn will win the next 3 ntl titles? Assuming she stays after jr season

Why wouldn't she stay for her senior year to play with her Class and Azzi's Class and the next incoming Class? First, they have a shot at winning the next 3 NC's and she will likely be able to make just as much $$$ as a college senior as she would as a WNBA rookie. She might be THE BIG NAME IN WCBB for NIL purposes as a senior while just being ONE OF the very good WNBA players if she would leave before her SR year.
I think she wants to play more than 2 years with Azzi and the only way to be sure of that is to stay for her senior year.

 

[oldude]

Why wouldn't she stay for her senior year to play with her Class and Azzi's Class and the next incoming Class? First, they have a shot at winning the next 3 NC's and she will likely be able to make just as much $$$ as a college senior as she would as a WNBA rookie. She might be THE BIG NAME IN WCBB for NIL purposes as a senior while just being ONE OF the very good WNBA players if she would leave before her SR year.
I think she wants to play more than 2 years with Azzi and the only way to be sure of that is to stay for her senior year.

Technically, Paige could play another 4 seasons in college, since last season didn’t count towards eligibility.

As for what she would make in the W if she left after her jr year, you make a valid point. Assuming Paige goes 1-4 in the draft, her maximum 1st year salary in 2023 would be $74,305, likely a fraction of what she could earn from NIL in college.

 

[HopJim]

Unfortunately, there are few female athletes in any sport at any level getting advertising deals. The college level players are competing with pro athletes, most of whom have greater name recognition. Paige has a significant number of followers but outside of the relatively small women's basketball community, she is an unknown. Predict that comparatively she will do well, but the windfall some are predicting may take time to develop.

 

[huskyd]

Many college athletes have announced NIL deals with sponsors including Azzi (Chipolte) and Liv (Fabletics}. Thus far Paige has hired an agent (Lindsay Colas) and trademarked Paige Buckets, but to date, there hasn't been any major endorsement deal announced for possibly the most marketable athlete in college sports. In the attached article, Paige hints at something in the works for the start of the season. Stay tuned.

Bueckers' NIL Hesitancy - Front Office Sports

Geez. One more thing to worry about . . .

 

[D J B]

Unfortunately, there are few female athletes in any sport at any level getting advertising deals. The college level players are competing with pro athletes, most of whom have greater name recognition. Paige has a significant number of followers but outside of the relatively small women's basketball community, she is an unknown. Predict that comparatively she will do well, but the windfall some are predicting may take time to develop.

I guess we'll see how it all plays out.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a law firm hired by the NCAA noted in a report that Bueckers has 900K (actually 910K) followers on Instagram, which is "more than the twenty 2021 Men's Final Four starters combined." They also determined that she "will likely be the nation's best-known college basketball player (male or female)" during her second season. Apparently, 21% of all Americans are 'very interested' in college basketball.

Not sure how "relatively small" the women's basketball community is, but it seems likely that her fan base, and people who know who she is could be larger than you think. As far as windfall predictions, her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas of Wasserman evidently "didn't blink at the $1 million estimate".

Is she going to compete with LeBron? Of course not, but she's going to do pretty good, and as I believe Geno said, it won't just be free donuts for life.

 

[CL82]

Unfortunately, there are few female athletes in any sport at any level getting advertising deals. The college level players are competing with pro athletes, most of whom have greater name recognition. Paige has a significant number of followers but outside of the relatively small women's basketball community, she is an unknown. Predict that comparatively she will do well, but the windfall some are predicting may take time to develop.

I think I saw some articles that rank Paige’s Social media value among the top few in college basketball, if not the very top. Though it is counterintuitive in a world where men’s games have a much greater draw than most women’s games, for whatever reason, female college athletes have much greater followers than male college athletes.

 

[oldude]

Unfortunately, there are few female athletes in any sport at any level getting advertising deals. The college level players are competing with pro athletes, most of whom have greater name recognition. Paige has a significant number of followers but outside of the relatively small women's basketball community, she is an unknown. Predict that comparatively she will do well, but the windfall some are predicting may take time to develop.

Don’t know what you consider a windfall to be, but here’s a few women athletes who appear to be doing quite well for themselves with the estimated value of their endorsement deals:

• Katie Ledecky - swimming - $3 million
• Simone Biles - gymnastics- $5 million
• Athing Mu - track & field - $2 million

Surely Paige, the most well known player in WBB, is worth a paltry million dollars or so.

 

[EdSaid]

Slow and steady win the race.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Don’t know what you consider a windfall to be, but here’s a few women athletes who appear to be doing quite well for themselves with the estimated value of their endorsement deals:

• Katie Ledecky - swimming - $3 million
• Simone Biles - gymnastics- $5 million
• Athing Mu - track & field - $2 million

Surely Paige, the most well known player in WBB, is worth a paltry million dollars or so.

Most well known WBB player? I'll bet a hell of a lot more people know who Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Candace Parker are.

 

[oldude]

Most well known WBB player? I'll bet a hell of a lot more people know who Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Candace Parker are.

Let’s say college WBB, but honestly, there’s a bunch of Gen Z’s out there who know Paige, but may not have heard of any of the players you mention, all of whom are relatively ancient to these kids.

 

[UConnCat]