Jordan Brand signs UCLA's Kiki Rice as first NIL athlete

Jordan Brand has made its first steps into the NIL landscape.

Nike has ramped up its NIL activity recently, signing five college and high school basketball players. And now the iconic Jumpman logo has signed UCLA freshman Kiki Rice to a partnership, marking the company’s first-ever NIL deal.

UCLA is currently one of six collegiate institutions that have partnered with Air Jordan for its gear. Because of that, Rice will be able to represent the brand on and off the court. The point guard joins a loaded roster of women’s athletes who have signed with Jordan, including WNBA stars Maya Moore, Crystal Dangerfield and Dearica Hamby.

“Being Jordan Brand’s first NIL athlete is an incredible milestone, and I think it’s a testament to the hard work I’ve put in and all the people around me who have helped me get to this point,” Rice said in a statement. “Signing with the Jordan Brand is another motivating factor for me to continue to work hard and achieve my goals.” 

Rice passed on UConn, Stanford, Arizona and Duke when making her commitment. The reigning Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year was a McDonald’s All-American in her final season at D.C.’s Sidwell Friends. The No. 2 ranked player in her class per ESPN, she was the third-leading scorer at the Nike Girls EYBL in July 2021, averaging 18.8 points per game. She became the highest-ranked commit in program history when she committed last November.

She’s already a three-time gold medalist with USA Basketball, too. When she committed to UCLA, Rice cited bringing the Bruins their first national championship as a factor in her decision. She’s also joined in the freshmen class with former highly-touted recruit Gabriela Jaquez.

Jordan is not her first NIL brand partner. Rice signed with Dove back in July, and she is represented by Wasserman.

A major focus in the partnership between Jordan Brand and Rice will be gender equity. The freshman has been open about her career aspirations, too, with future NBA general manager listed in her UCLA bio.

“One of my biggest passions is gender equity, especially in sports,” she said. “Being an athlete, I experienced firsthand a lot of inequity, and I think leveling the playing field between boys and girls at a young age is something that I’m really passionate about in terms of helping bridge the gap.”

She’s also excited to be able to have her choice of Jordans to wear this season. Theoretically, she could also wear her own Air Jordan sneaker while playing for UCLA.

“Although my first pair of Jordans were 1’s, my favorite pair of Jordans are 4’s,” she said. “I am really excited to play in the Luka 1s, Zion 2s and Air Jordan 37.”

Kiki Rice just starting to tap into NIL potential

The UCLA freshman currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $42,000. Rice currently has a combined social media following of 44,000. That comes out to a projected $646 per-post value. Her following is sure to jump following the Jordan announcement and the start of her freshman season.

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.

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.