LSU's Angel Reese enters NIL deal with Airbnb

Angel Reese spent this past week in her native Baltimore area.

Her new charitable foundation held two events, including a youth basketball skills clinic at her alma mater, St. Frances Academy. She threw out the first pitch at the Orioles game on Tuesday.

She also cashed in on a new NIL deal, partnering with Airbnb for a weekend with her friends in the DMV. The LSU basketball star announced the endorsement deal on her Instagram on Monday morning.

After delivering the Tigers their first national title in program history this past spring, Reese has become a coveted name for brands to work within the NIL realm. The online marketplace for short- and long-term stays is the latest to partner with the first-team All-American.

Founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia, Airbnb stands for “AirBedandBreakfast.” Reese is one of the first known college athletes to sign an NIL agreement with the Fortune 500 company. The Oregon-driven NIL collective Division Street announced plans in November 2021 for an Airbnb concept which allowed Oregon athletes to earn NIL money by serving as Airbnb hosts.

“Airbnb set me and my friends up REAL GOOD for a weekend in the DMV,” she wrote in her Instagram post. “Thank you!”

Growing up in Baltimore, she spent the first two years of her college career at Maryland, earning third-team AP All-American in the 2021-22 season. Her celebrity status took off in her first year at LSU. Averaging a double-double, she earned the nickname “Bayou Barbie” for her on-court demeanor and eyelash extensions and long pink nails. She filed to trademark the nickname and has been openly campaigning for a partnership with the Mattel toy company.

Angel Reese’s profile continues to grow

The national title win has only put her in the spotlight more, as she became the topic of the sports world when she threw a “you can’t see me” celebration toward Iowa guard Caitlin Clark 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.

The gesture only amplified her social media platforms. The LSU star now has 4.9 million social media followers, helping her land brand deals with Amazon, Starry, PlayStation and ZOA Energy in the last few months.

Represented by Jeanine Ogbonnaya, the 6-foot-3 small forward earned a silver medal on the AmeriCup Team earlier this month and was at the White House in May to celebrate LSU’s national championship.

Earlier this month, Reese announced plans to leverage her NIL brand to give back with the formation of Angel C. Reese Foundation, which will focus on empowering women through sports, education and financial literacy.

With two years of eligibility remaining, the 21-year-old could decide to go to the WNBA after the 2023 season. That will not be an automatic decision. Reese has a significantly larger social media following than the average WNBA player. The average contract in 2022 in the league was $102,751, just a share of what the college basketball star is making now because of NIL.

Entering March Madness, Angel Reese had a $371,000 On3 NIL Valuation. Her valuation now sits at $1.6 million, which is the top-ranked women’s basketball NIL valuation. Reese ranks No. 5 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.