Female NCAA Players Set to Smash Gender Pay Gap With Brand Deals

This year’s collegiate basketball tournament has a new twist: Amateur players can now make money from endorsements, and some female athletes stand to make more than the men.

Thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year, college players can now benefit from sponsorship deals, and that’s meant big bucks for some of the stars. The biggest ballers have clinched deals with a range of brands — from the sporty, such as Gatorade and IcyHot, to broader consumer names, such as H&R Block Inc. and DirecTV.

Women’s college basketball ranks second to football in player compensation for endorsements, with men’s basketball a close third, according to data from Opendorse, a Lincoln, Nebraska-based company that tracks what sports agents call name, image and likeness, or NIL, deals.

The company shared figures with Bloomberg News that ranked the marketability of women’s and men’s college basketball players set to play in the Final Four matchups on Friday and Saturday. Opendorse calculates a value per social media post for players based on factors such as their Twitter and Instagram followers, what school they play for, and awards or recognitions they’ve received.

The most marketable women’s players had higher earnings potential than the men, in part due to their higher social media followings. For example, Paige Bueckers, the point guard for the University of Connecticut Huskies, boasts close to 1 million Instagram followers. Meanwhile, Duke University star Paolo Banchero leads the men for earnings potential with just over 250,000 Instagram followers.

Below is a roundup of the players with the highest social media post earnings potential from each Final Four team.

Women’s Players

Paige Bueckers, University of Connecticut: $62,964

Bueckers secures the top spot for marketable basketball players in the Final Four, and the point guard has certainly cashed in. She clinched big deals with Gatorade and StockX, the online streetwear marketplace.

She’s also partnered with CashApp, the mobile payment platform. She announced the deal in a February TikTok post shared with her more than 350,000 followers. She wrote on Instagram that for every assist she gets in the NCAA tournament, the company will donate $1,000 to Youthprise, a nonprofit based in Bueckers’ home state of Minnesota. So far, she’s had 11 assists.

Hailey Van Lith, University of Louisville: $37,692

Van Lith started negotiating early. In August, she signed an exclusive deal with Octagon to represent her in NIL negotiations and since then, has partnered with a range of companies. She’s touted gear from Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. on Instagram and shouted out the pain reducer IcyHot on TikTok.

Cameron Brink, Stanford University: $8,846

Brink reps her home city in a partnership with apparel company Portland Gear. The Stanford forward also signed with hair salon chain Great Clips. In a March Instagram post, Brink sported choppy, layered locks with a caption declaring she was “ready for #GameDayGREATness.”

Brink also reps DirecTV on TiKTok, where she posted a video of her pre-game routine — complete with footage of her carbo-loaded meal and a hairbraiding session with her teammate.

Zia Cooke, University of South Carolina: $7,923

Cooke signed a sponsorship deal with H&R Block as part of the financial services company’s “A Fair Shot” campaign, which invests in female college athletes. The South Carolina point guard signed the deal alongside University of Iowa’s star Caitlin Clark.

Cooke also promotes Bojangles, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based fried chicken chain. Seated outside with a box of fries and chicken tenders, Cooke declares in a Twitter video: “I don’t like making a comeback because I like being in the lead, but for the Bojangles Supreme, I make an exception.”

Men’s Players

Paolo Banchero, Duke University: $9,952

Banchero partnered with Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s NBA 2K last year, making him the first active college basketball player to be featured in the video game series. College athletes’ appearances in video games helped spark early debates over NIL rules.

Banchero has raked in other deals as well. He announced his partnership with men’s sports retailer JD Sports Fashion Plc, via a February Instagram post. He’s also signed a multiyear deal with trading card company Panini, which offered its first Banchero card on March 18 to coincide with Duke’s first game of the tournament.

Caleb Love, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: $4,951

Love announced a deal with Outback Steakhouse in February. The Tar Heels point guard is one of a dozen NCAA college basketball stars to become TeamMATES for the Aussie-themed restaurant. Diners with a Division I appetite can order Love’s favorite meal — Kookaburra Wings and a New York Strip with sides. “Who’s hungry?” Love asked on an Instagram photo last month — fork and knife in hand.

Ochai Agbaji, University of Kansas: $3,076

Wichita, Kansas-based 6th Man Strategies represents Agbaji and his teammates as they navigate NIL deals. So far, neither his Instagram nor his Twitter accounts feature any obvious brand partnerships. Kansas Athletics has partnered with Mercury, an NFT platform that allows fans to buy team collectibles. His teammate, Jalen Wilson, appears to be very active. Wilson’s Instagram includes posts promoting messaging service Discord and his apparel brand, JW10.

Collin Gillespie, Villanova University: $1,798

Gillespie may have fewer followers than some rivals, but he’s still got plenty of deals. The point guard signed with Barstool Athletes in July 2021, less than two weeks after the Supreme Court’s ruling. Like Love, Gillespie also promotes Outback, offering his go-to meal: Aussie Cheese Fries and a New York Strip with sides.

Carly Wanna reports for Bloomberg News.

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