South Carolina Women's Basketball Players Agree to $25K NIL Deals for 2022-23 Season
Fresh off winning a national championship, players for the South Carolina women's basketball team can make $25,000 each for the 2022-23 season through a name, image and likeness deal.
According to a release from NOCAP Sports, the deal was orchestrated by South Carolina NIL collective Garnet Trust and NOCAP Sports and is funded by former South Carolina State Rep. Bakari Sellers and a group of prominent alumni.
Sellers issued a statement about the deal included in the release:
"The South Carolina community and alumni network are proud to support the reigning national champs as they continue to build the best program in the country. NIL has created an awesome opportunity for these athletes to earn what they have always deserved, and we are excited to continue to support this team for years to come."
As part of the deal, individual members of the team will be responsible for "various deliverables that involve community appearances, social media engagement, sponsored interviews, and other marketing and communications endeavors."
A website has also been set up by Garnet Trust that allows fans to sign up for a membership and receive special perks, including messages from Gamecocks student-athletes in Trust-sponsored interviews, the opportunity to submit questions for athlete interviews and a monthly newsletter featuring a message from one of the athletes.
Per Emily Adams of the Greenville News, the total value of the NIL deal for all 13 players on South Carolina's roster is approximately $325,000.
Aliyah Boston, the reigning Naismith Women's College Player of the Year, and Zia Cooke were already poised to cash in on their talent. Boston has multiple NIL deals in the bag, including with Crocs, Under Armour and Octagon Basketball.
Cooke has deals with H&R Block and Bojangles.
South Carolina won its second national title last season. Head coach Dawn Staley led her team to a 35-2 overall record, an SEC regular-season championship and a 64-49 victory over Connecticut in the NCAA tournament championship game.
