Brands activate innovative strategies in NIL deals with college star Paige Bueckers

The GIST: The stardom of UConn women’s basketball sensation Paige Bueckers has continuously risen throughout her college career, culminating in what could be her most successful (and profitable) season yet.

• This week, Sportico reported on how Bueckers — whose estimated worth is over $1M — has landed a number of lucrative and innovative NIL deals. Here’s some insight on how savvy brands have signed one of college basketball’s biggest stars to their influencer rosters.

💰 Brands are putting equity on the table. Negotiating for company stake is something pro athletes are increasingly doing, so brands that want Bueckers on board are offering her substantial pieces of the pie. Bueckers owns stake in basketball-forward brands like Overtime and Unrivaled as well as beauty company Madison Reed, which recently struck a teamwide deal with UConn Athletics.

🤝 Bueckers is a package deal. In order to draw in the Huskies guard, brands are casting wider nets when building out their athlete rosters. The aforementioned Madison Reed, Panini America, CeraVe, and Epic Games have all signed Bueckers and her UConn teammates to deals. Friendship never ends.

👟 There’s money in merch. In 2024, Bueckers was the top-earning woman athlete according to the NIL Store and became the first Nike NIL athlete to release a player edition shoe. She also has exclusive merch collections with hip basketball brands like Round21 and Slam — putting Bueckers on a t-shirt is a surefire way to drive sales.

🚀 Brands are seeing the long game. In the NIL era, Bueckers has signed deals with over 25 companies, and nearly half are multiyear agreements that will extend into her expected WNBA career. That strategy worked out well for Caitlin Clark, who’s now worth an estimated $4M thanks to extended deals with brands like Nike, State Farm, and Gatorade.

• Notably, deals like this are still relatively uncommon. Less than 15% of NIL deals are renewed in a pro athlete’s rookie season, with less than 1% of those that are carried over extended into a sophomore season. But if Clark’s proven anything, it’s that sticking around is well worth the investment. Easy buckets.