Nebraska pole vaulter Jess Gardner first track athlete featured on NIL trading card

Nebraska pole vaulter and social media influencer Jess Gardner is the first track-and-field student-athlete featured on a trading card through her new NIL deal with Leaf Trading Cards.

Leaf has emerged as a popular trading card company for athletes in NIL.

Livvy Dunne released the “first gymnastics NIL trading card the world has ever seen” with the company in December. Leaf has also been aggressive in college football, working with Tennessee quarterback signee Nico Iamaleava and USC Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams. In July, Leaf also announced a new partnership with Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis and running back Trey Benson. 

Topps has also emerged as an NIL winner since it secured trading card rights deals with nearly 200 student-athletes across college football and basketball last June. Panini America recently released a NIL trading card featuring Texas quarterback Arch Manning. The inaugural trading card was auctioned off at $103,000 for charity.

Getting to know Jess Gardner

Jess Gardner, a standout pole vaulter on the Cornhuskers’ track and field team, has transcended athletics and used her platform to create a massive social media following. She has more than 125,000 followers on Instagram, and her TikTok account has ballooned to more than 222,400 followers with 3.8 million views. Her posts have also been featured recently on a number of sports and entertainment websites.

On the track, Gardner has been recognized as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2021 and 2022. She also received academic All-Big Ten honors in 2021, 2022 and 2023. This indoor season she finished 10th in the pole vault in the Big Ten Indoor Championships, clearing 13-1 (3.99m). She also won the Mark Colligan Memorial with a mark of 12-7 1/4 (3.84m).

“This partnership reflects our commitment to being the biggest supporter of female athletes in the trading card space,” said CJ Breen, Leaf Trading Cards’ director of marketing and athlete relations. “We are extremely excited to welcome Jess to the Leaf Family.”

Gardner is one of the top track and field performers in the NIL space, too. She has an On3 NIL Valuation of $105,000. That ranks fourth in the On3 College Women’s Track NIL Ranking. She has a long list of NIL deals, including previously agreed partnerships with adidas, Steve Madden, Scooter’s Coffee and others. The terms of the new deal with Leaf were not released.

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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 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.