Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark's On3 NIL Valuations soar following Final Four

Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark took advantage of their moment in the Final Four.

Clark led her Iowa team to a win over top-seeded South Carolina last Friday night, finishing with 41 points and eight assists. Reese and LSU handled Virginia Tech, sealing the Tigers’ first Final Four win in six tries.

LSU’s commanding win over Iowa in Sunday afternoon’s national title game brought in 9.9 million viewers – the most-watched women’s basketball game of all time. The drama was there, too. Reese threw Clark’s “you can’t see me” celebration toward the Iowa guard before pointing out her ring finger in the game’s closing seconds. Social media set off into a divisive conversation, while some defended Reese and others called the LSU forward classless.

For Reese and Clark, however, the weekend’s national platform also elevated their NIL brands.

Clark, who has NIL deals with Buick, Nike and Hy-Vee, has added more than 425,000 followers since Friday night’s Final Four. Her 41 points against the Gamecocks made her the first player in NCAA tournament history to record back-to-back 40-point games. Her On3 NIL Valuation is now up to $739,000, a $547,000 increase since last week.

Reese has also made a name for herself in the NIL space, inking partnerships with Coach, McDonald’s and Sparkling Ice. Her social following has been on a tear, adding more than 1.3 million followers in the last week. Much of that has come following Sunday’s national title. She finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Her biggest gain has come on Instagram, where she’s seen more than 500,000 new followers.

The LSU star’s On3 NIL Valuation now sits at $876,000, a $485,000 jump in the last week. Reese now sits at No. 3 overall in the women’s basketball NIL rankings; Clark is three spots down at No. 6.

Reese also ranks No. 31 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation. Clark, who now has more than 740,000 total followers, is No. 52 in the On3 NIL 100.

Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark just beginning to build brands

The National Player of the Year, Clark is arguably the sport’s next big star and will be back in Iowa for at least another season before the WNBA. She signed with Nike in October as an obvious long-term play for the sportswear brand. The brand recently launched name and number tees and sweatshirts for the Iowa guard, one of the first moves by Nike to monetize her NIL outside of social media posts.

Her value in the Iowa market only continues to rise, too. She released multiple skills camp dates last week which sold out in a matter of hours. Returning for another year opens up plenty of endorsement possibilities.

The same goes for Reese. Her agent, Jeanine Ogbonnaya, told On3 on Monday they’ve reached out to the Mattel toy company about a possible partnership with the “Bayou Barbie.” Reese has also filed a trademark for the nickname.

Plenty of brands have reached out following Sunday’s national title. Ogbonnaya said the focus has been on evaluating long-term partnerships that align with Reese’s brand. A sneaker deal could not be far off.

“Having a lot of conversations in that space,” Ogbonnaya said. “You know, I think sneaker deals are obviously a very traditional category for athletes. She plays at a Nike school. But all things are on the table. I’d love to do something unique in the space because, like I said, it is so traditional and Angel – she’s a unicorn. So, I would love to do something different and fresh in the shoe space. That doesn’t mean a unique brand, it could be a traditional brand, but something that’s different and separates her from her peers.”

About the On3 NIL Valuation

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.

The On3 NIL Valuation accounts for an athlete’s roster value and brand value. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. Brand value factors in an athlete’s personal brand and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.

The On3 NIL Valuation is publicly available. Performance, Influence, and Exposure ratings along with the athlete’s personal Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index are available only to the athlete in the “Athlete Verified” private dashboard on the On3 Athlete Network.