USC star JuJu Watkins signs historic multi-year NIL deal with Fanatics

As JuJu Watkins gets ready for her second NCAA tournament, she’s continuing to blaze a trail in the NIL space. The USC star is making more history.

Watkins signed a historic multi-year NIL deal with Fanatics Collectibles, the company announced Friday. She will receive a Bowman University Chrome trading card from Topps and will release memorabilia as part of the exclusive agreement, considered the first of its kind for a female athlete.

Watkins is continues to add to her growing NIL portfolio and has a $739,000 On3 NIL Valuation. Fanatics and Topps also recently announced a similar deal with Duke star Cooper Flagg, and will now add another college basketball star to its roster.

Fanatics announced an exclusive, multi-year trading card and memorabilia NIL deal with USC star JuJu Watkins.

Watkins becomes the first female collegiate athlete ever to have a deal of this kind with Fanatics. pic.twitter.com/IT9a2rY6o5

— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) March 14, 2025

Watkins is putting together a standout sophomore season after bursting onto the scene as a freshman a year ago. She leads the Trojans with 24.6 points, 3.5 assists and 2.2 steals heading into the big dance. She also sits tied for the team lead with 1.9 blocks per game and is averaging 6.9 rebounds.

USC made the Big Ten tournament championship in its first year in the league, setting up a third matchup against rival UCLA. The Trojans fell in the title game, but are still projected to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, according to ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme.

JuJu Watkins cashing in ahead of March Madness

JuJu Watkins’ partnership with Fanatics and Topps is the latest addition to her portfolio this week. She’s also starring in a commercial for Mondelēz that will air throughout March Madness, promoting RITZ alongside Arizona guard Caleb Love.

Repped by Klutch Sports, Watkins also inked NIL deals with with United, State Farm, Nike, AT&T and Spotify as part of her growing portfolio. With a $765,000 On3 NIL Valuation fueled by 1.3 million social media followers, she ranks No. 9 in the On3 Women’s NIL 100.

As part of her NIL deal with Nike, Watkins appeared in the company’s first Super Bowl commercial in almost 30 years. The ad promoted women’s sports and included women’s basketball stars Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and A’ja Wilson, as well as UCLA gymnast Jordan Chiles and Olympics track star Sha’Carri Richardson.