As soon as the USC Trojans freshman JuJu Watkins burst onto the NCAA scene, many compared her to the then-NCAA Queen: Caitlin Clark. With time and her WBCA Freshman of the Year-worthy skills, she attracted many coveted brands such as Nike, Gatorade, and Cactus Jack among others. However, Watkins trailed her competitors Flau’jae Johnson and Paige Bueckers in the NIL world. But now, she has leaped the $1 million NIL club by becoming the first women’s college basketball player to ink a deal with a professional makeup brand.

According to the latest news on Tuesday, Watkins has inked an agreement with NYX Professional Makeup, which aims to empower female athletes. The brand’s tagline “Make Them Look” is a reflective take on women athletes and how they continue to contribute to the world of sports. The tagline is loud, proud, and authentic self-expression of female athletes and according to the brand, the 19-year-old embodies those qualities.

Promoting inclusivity, diversity, and community, Watkins’ values align with the brand as she has opened a charity “Good JuJu” which supports emerging basketball players from her hometown – Watts in South Central and the greater LA area. As we all know, Nyx is a L’Oreal subsidiary founded in 1999. Over the years, the brand has been known for growing rapidly and currently has a market cap of $500 million. Hopefully, that will increase when JuJu drops her first endorsement project with the brand.  

“I am thrilled to partner with NYX Professional Makeup to help further amplify their mission to inspire beauty enthusiasts around the world and embrace their own personal style… NYX is all about breaking boundaries and celebrating individuality, which resonates deeply with me both as an athlete and as a person. I’m looking forward to working with a brand that embraces creativity and encourages everyone to feel confident in their own skin,” stated Watkins, as per PRSNews Wire.

Formerly, Nyx had signed a deal with Shilese Jones in June, making her the first professional gymnast to have an individual deal with the brand. And with their latest deal with Watkins, who also is the first NCAA women’s basketball athlete to sign a deal, it looks like the company is expanding its roots.

Announcing the deal with Watkins, the GM of NYX Professional Makeup Yasmin Dastmalchi said, “We are beyond excited to welcome JuJu to the NYX Professional Makeup family. JuJu’s spirit, talent, and commitment to excellence makes her a perfect pick for our brand. We can’t wait to support her as she uses her voice to further inspire our community and share our core values.”

Another thing to note is that NYX has also sponsored the WNBA team NY Liberty for their makeup and cosmetics and NWSL’s Angel City Football Club. While the brand is making strides in involving female athletes in its campaigns, JuJu Watkins is also on her way to create a financial legacy for herself just as a sophomore.

JuJu Watkins inches closer to $1 million in NIL valuation

While Johnson and Bueckers already have an NIL of $1.5 million and $1.4 million respectively, Watkins stands at the sixth spot in the NCAA women’s NIL list with $576K. Though she signed major deals with Nike and Gatorade, it hasn’t been reflected in her portfolio yet. After her peers Clark and Bueckers became ambassadors for sports drinks, Watkins also joined the elite list. Meanwhile, with Nike, she is said to have inked one of the richest shoe deals in women’s basketball.

And now, with her deal with NYX, she is expected to inch closer to the $1 million mark. And hopefully, with that, her position in the NIL rankings will also change. Another point to note is that apart from getting her more NIL, the deal can get her more fans as NYX has over 30 million social media followers. Watkins currently has 1.2 million followers so surely this deal will extend her reach.

Hopefully, the updated NIL will be out before the regular season starts. This year is going to be crucial for the California-born as it will prove if she is the next big thing in college basketball, and whether she will be able to live up to the expectations of competing with the reigning WNBA ROTY: Caitlin Clark. And much of it will be clear when the Trojans battle it out against the Ole Miss Rebels on November 4, giving a hint of how much Watkins practiced in the off-season.