Trio of LSU athletes sit at top of Women’s NIL 100

At the start of college athletics’ new era in July 2021, LSU did not shy away from embracing NIL. Quickly developing a program to help athletes leverage their publicity rights, the athletic department developed NILSU to assist all parties in the execution of an endorsement deal.

The same moniker rings true to the success LSU athletes have had in the name, image and likeness space. Female athletes have emerged as some of the largest earners in the last 22 months.

LSU is arguably the embodiment of that. Livvy Dunne is the most followed college athlete, striking notable partnerships with Vuori Clothing and American Eagle. Angel Reese has added nearly three million social media followers since the Final Four. Flau’jae Johnson was already an established rapper; she finished her first year at LSU as SEC Freshman of the Year.

The trio of Tigers now sit atop the On3 Women’s NIL 100, which ranks the 100 female athletes with the highest On3 NIL Valuations.

Dunne ranks No. 1 overall with a $3.4 million On3 NIL Valuation, followed by Reese at $1.4 million and Johnson with an $812,000 valuation. Each athlete also sits in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes.

The NIL success of the LSU trio has only caught the attention of other athletes across the nation.

“The LSU brand has given the student-athletes on campus an opportunity to maximize NIL, and the women have run away with it out of the gates,” The Bengal Tiger‘s Shea Dixon said. “Olivia and Flau’jae had a following before arriving to campus. But have seen that grow exponentially. Angel used the March Madness platform to really launch her NIL approach. LSU has proven it can provide that extra level of exposure no matter the individual situation.

“It’s a massive selling point in recruiting, which I think we saw with both Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow. And that exposure puts the LSU brand in front of not just the next-generation student-athletes, but also prospective students, which is great for the university. In the first two years of NIL, it’s clear from the numbers that LSU has set the curve on the women’s side when it comes to the maximization of a student-athlete’s brand.”

Here is a breakdown of each athlete’s NIL brand:

Livvy Dunne

Dunne has only seen her reach grow since the inception of NIL. Working closely with WME, she has signed deals with EA Sports, Body Armor and Forever 21. She partnered with the artificial intelligence company Caktus AI at the end of February, which drew a response from LSU. With more than 11.3 million social media followers, she can guarantee brands will get unprecedented exposure to their products. Dunne will be in this year’s edition of SI Swimsuit along with Reese, marking the first two college athletes to ever appear in the magazine. The 20-year-old is speaking at the On3 NIL Elite Series in Nashville later this month, sharing her NIL experiences with the invitation-only group of elite football players and their parents.

Angel Reese

The 6-foot-3 forward has seen her On3 NIL Valuation rise in unison with her social media following. Brands have lined up to work with her. Reese has inked agreements with Raising Cane’s and Caktus AI since LSU’s national title. She released a limited edition jersey through Campus Ink. And she bought herself a new Mercedes-Benz EQS580 as part of a deal with the LSU-focused Bayou Collective and MatchPoint Connection marketplace. Represented by Jeanine Ogbonnaya, the slew of deals doesn’t appear to be slowing down. A shoe deal could be around the corner. Reese is returning for another season, too, after averaging a double-double and earning first-team All-American honors.

Flau’jae Johnson

For all her popularity off the court, it’s hard to overlook how impactful Johnson was in her first season at LSU averaging 11 points and 5.9 rebounds in Year 1 . A rap star off the court with a record deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, she announced her commitment to LSU with a new song. The America’s Got Talent star has turned her basketball and rap career into a successful NIL strategy. With more than 2.3 million social media followers, she also has a YouTube page with over 164,000 subscribers. Her list of partnerships includes Puma, HighlightHER Meta and Taco Bell.

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.