“In Many Instances, They Are Outearning Men”: NCAA Analyst Reveals Success of College NIL Deals for Caitlin Clark, Kiki Rice and Others

The impact of NIL has been huge in the life of any college basketball athlete. And perhaps this sometimes has benefitted the female division more in comparison to their male counterparts. This is evident if we have a look at the valuations of two huge names in women’s basketball. Former Iowa guard Caitlin Clark capped off her NCAA career with an NIL valuation of $3.1 million. Similarly, the UCLA spearhead Kiki Rice was in no way inferior as she became the first NIL athlete to become a part of the Jordan Brand family.

That’s what Episode 2 of Full Court Press is all about as it dives deep into how NIL has played a vital part in putting players like Caitlin Clark and Kiki Rice at the forefront. To get a clearer picture, an eminent NCAA analyst broke it down further.

How NIL deals are turning the tables for women athletes

The ESPN docuseries ‘Full Court Press’ recently aired Episodes 1 and 2 at ABC on Saturday noon. This four-episode show focuses on various never before seen aspects of the life of three NCAA superstars namely Caitlin Clark, Kiki Rice and Kamilla Cardoso. One of them is the role of NIL in shaping their careers like never before.

Shedding more light on this fact, ESPN’s college basketball analyst Jay Bilas expressed, “Before NIL, the narrative of the NCAA was ‘we start allowing players to make money, it’s going to hurt the women’s game.’ Women are getting paid now and they are not only competitive with men, in many instances they are outearning men.”

This theory appears to be true according to a recent study conducted by SponsorUnited. The numbers suggest that despite the 57% male dominance in the NIL deals overall, women athletes have a better average in grabbing more brand deals. Reportedly, it is 3.5 in the case of women and 2.5 for men.

In addition to this, there has been a 37% year-over-year surge in 2023 in the number of women among the top 100 athletes in terms of ranking by total NIL deals. At the moment, there are 52 women in the top 100. The sports largely responsible for this growth are women’s volleyball, softball, and basketball. However, these privileges are not for everyone. As it turns out, overseas players like Kamilla Cardoso have to face a lot of restrictions.

Why does Kamilla Cardoso lag behind Caitlin Clark in the NIL race?

The former South Carolina senior center, Kamilla Cardoso, cannot indulge in the NIL deals. The reason behind the Brazilian’s disadvantageous situation is the granted student visa. Further, there is a risk of their visa getting revoked because a majority of things in the NIL are classified. A similar issue is faced by the 2× National College Player of the Year Zach Edey.

Indeed, NIL plays a very comprehensive role in the life of these stars. Moreover, female athletes are now catching up courtesy of the fans providing them immense love and support. Consequently, this has worked wonders for them in garnering all these revenue opportunities.