LSU star Angel Reese promotes Final Fantasy XVI in latest NIL deal

Angel Reese is back to promoting notable brands thanks to name, image and likeness.

The LSU basketball player and social media influencer inked an NIL deal with PlayStation, promoting the company’s new Final Fantasy XVI video game. The news comes days after USC quarterback Caleb Williams joined PlayStation’s Playmaker program.

Reese has become a coveted partner for companies to work with in the NIL space since she helped LSU win the national title back in April. The first-team All-American released an ad for the video game on Instagram. Appearing in the commercial with Reese is Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, professional soccer players Alphonso Davies, Gabriel Martinelli and Alessia Russo, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, WWE’s Austin Creed and F1 Driver Pierre Gasly.

A Japanese science fantasy anthology, the first Final Fantasy game was released in 1987. This 16th edition dropped Thursday. The 6-foot-3 small forward is seen throughout the advertisement playing on her PlayStation console.

“With the release of Final Fantasy XVI, me and my friends want to get you caught up with everything you need to know about the game,” she says at the beginning of the video.

Represented by Jeanine Ogbonnaya, Reese has become one of the biggest winners in the NIL era. She’ll be a member of next month’s USA Women’s AmeriCup Team and was at the White House in May to celebrate LSU’s national championship. Reese recently made a cameo in a Latto and Cardi B music video.

None of the hype around her name appears to be slowing down, either. She finished last season averaging a double-double with 23 points and 15.4 rebounds. LSU picked up transfers Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow in the transfer portal, both of which could also be NIL wins.

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Angel Reese’s ever-growing NIL brand

Nicknamed the “Bayou Barbie” for her on-court demeanor and eyelash extensions and long pink nails, Reese has embraced college athletics’ NIL era. She filed to trademark the nickname and has been openly campaigning for a partnership with the Mattel toy company.

Her list of endorsement deals is extensive, too. An ambassador for the hair care brand Mielle, she became one of the first college athletes to appear in SI Swimsuit in May. The former Maryland transfer joined her teammates at Raising Cane’s as part of an NIL agreement days after the national title, serving LSU students during the lunch hour. Along with Flau’jae Johnson, the duo released limited edition jerseys through Campus Ink. Plus, she made an appearance at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Baton Rouge.

Reese signed an endorsement deal with Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge at the beginning of May with the help of the LSU-focused Bayou Collective. Partially paid for through an NIL deal, Reese paid for the rest of the EQS580.

LSU star’s On3 NIL Valuation

Entering March Madness, Angel Reese had a $371,000 On3 NIL Valuation. Her valuation now is $1.6 million, which is the top-ranked women’s basketball NIL valuation. Reese also 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.

She is one of just 25 athletes to have a valuation in the seven figures. The rise in her profile is a mix of the LSU star’s persona and established brand.

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.