LSU's Angel Reese inks NIL deal with JanSport

Angel Reese has not struggled to find her place at LSU.

The sophomore has the Tigers playing in their first Sweet 16 since 2014. Through two games in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, the small forward averaged 29.5 points while grabbing 39 rebounds.

She’s been successful off the court, too, finding plenty of name, image and likeness deals. Her latest partnership is with the backpack company JanSport. In a video filmed for TikTok, Reese goes through her daily life with multiple bags from the brand. She also places a focus on mental health.

“I literally always have class or basketball, so I literally never have time for myself these days,” Reese said. “With March Madness being here, I’m going to be doing a digital detox and taking a break from social media. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, maybe you should try it with me. … Thank you JanSport for bringing mental health to the forefront during this season.”

The deal with JanSport is one of the first known deals between the brand of backpacks and a college athlete. Reese has placed a focus on aligning with fashion brands, so it isn’t a surprise. In her TikTok, she shows off the company’s backpack and gym bag.

Reese does know a few things about partnering with bag brands thanks to NIL. The LSU star previously signed a partnership with the luxury bag company Coach. As part of the agreement, Reese gifted each of her teammates a tote from the brand.

Formerly a top-ranked recruit, she decided to leave Maryland after two seasons season. Moving to the SEC and playing for head coach Kim Mulkey has gone nearly perfect. Reese was named to the AP All-America team last week.

Embracing move to LSU

The face of the LSU program, Reese has also won over fans with her on-court demeanor. She has also become known for her style, with eyelash extensions and long pink nails.

All of it has earned Reese the moniker “Bayou Barbie.” She’s fully embraced the nickname. Reese posted a photo on Instagram in January with the caption only including the nickname.

And with the help of her team, she’s made the decision to trademark the nickname, with the hope she can set up a website and sell merchandise.

“Obviously she’s playing in Baton Rouge,” Reese’s agent, Jeanine Ogbonnaya, recently told On3. “Yeah, she is the most fabulous, amazing woman ever. She loves the color pink. She’s always getting her hair and nails done for games. So that definitely plays a big part into it.”

Angel Reese’s growing On3 NIL Valuation

The third-year sophomore has a $384,000 On3 NIL Valuation. The No. 6 valuation in women’s basketball is thanks to Reese’s social media presence. With more than 975,000 social media followers, the small forward is one of the most-followed college basketball players.

Along with NIL deals with major brands like McDonald’s, Sparkling Ice, Xfinity, Wingstop, Outback Steakhouse and Discord, she also spent time working with ESPN’s Holly Rowe during the 2022 LSU football 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.

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 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.