Adidas signs 15 NIL deals with group of all-female D1 student athletes

The GIST: Adidas is betting on women for its first name, image and likeness (NIL) class. On Tuesday, the sportswear giant inked 15 deals with an all-female group of Division I student athletes. The agreements continue the brand’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX and its women-focused NIL strategy. Cheers to that.

The details: The 15 DI athletes represent seven sports, and the squad includes Louisville basketball phenom Hailey Van Lith and Arizona State gymnast Izzy Redmond. The new recruits will level up with mentorship from WNBA great Candace Parker as well as former W player Layshia Clarendon and tennis icon Billie Jean King. In good company.

• The college stars’ first collab with the Chicago Sky forward? A photo shoot co-directed by Parker and her production company, Baby Hair Productions. Parker also used the sesh to build connections with Adidas’ new brand ambassadors.

• The program expands Parker’s long-standing partnership with the three stripes — the two-time W champ has been on the brand’s books since high school. We love a sweetheart story.

Zooming out: Since its massive move to extend NIL contracts to over 50K DI athletes in March, Adidas has only added female players to its roster. In addition to the newest group, the company inked its first-ever NIL deal with Stanford golfer Rose Zhang in May. Long story short? Brands know investing in female athletes is just good business.

• Year one of NIL proved how valuable female athletes can be, especially hoopers. Van Lith ranked second of the top five players by NIL value in this year’s March Madness Final Four — and all but one were women. Impossible really is nothing.