Those stringent minimums puts a burden on schools, not apparel companies, to gauge the market for their star women players. And so kind of having that reciprocated would be awesome.". even though her jersey sold out in a day. California passed a bill, but the pending legislation in Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and elsewhere looks slightly different, and federal legislation could override everything. For male athletes, earning potential generally works in the opposite direction, especially for sports like football or basketball. In an April 6 interview with the Oregonian's John Canzano on the podcast The Bald Faced Truth, the former University of Oregon star said she was deciding among offers from Nike, Under Armour and Puma: "I've been going between Nike, Under Armour and Puma.

“So in this piece for Forbes, I talked to four major social media marketing companies,” Dosh said. Darvin thinks apparel companies are part of that problem.

How does political perception differ from reality in American sports? In November, Nike made the rare decision to release a women's NCAA jersey in unisex sizing, launching green-and-yellow-accented No. (2:17). Legislative changes might allow college athletes to finally cash in. She has arguably been the face of college basketball for the past three seasons.

Playing less than two hours south of Nike's headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, her proximity to the Nike campus and its close ties to the University of Oregon all factored into making Ionescu a priority signing amid aggressive offers and compelling competition from other brands. "The marketability that is there in New York, and kind of the hustle and bustle, is something that I think could be not only beneficial to myself as a person, but as a brand, and for women's basketball," Ionescu said during a conference call with reporters earlier this week, although she admitted she has visited only twice. I'm just trying to weigh out all my options and seeing what the best opportunity for me will be.".

Surely it was by no coincidence, of course, despite the NCAA's amateurism guidelines. 1 overall pick, Sabrina Ionescu, has signed a multiyear endorsement deal with Nike.

The $75 replica jerseys sold out online in less than an hour and have been reselling for twice as much ever since. But thanks to NCAA bylaws, she’ll make exactly zero dollars as a member of the Oregon Ducks, even though her jersey sold out in a day. Ionescu’s Oregon jersey sold out in a day, after all, and most schools don’t produce women’s basketball jerseys. During her senior year, she pursued a master's degree in advertising and brand responsibility from Oregon's School of Journalism and Communications, where she zeroed in on the dynamics surrounding the lucrative athletic industry that awaited her. For each game following the events of Jan. 26, Ionescu wrote tribute messages to the Bryants on her sneakers.

1 pick Sabrina Ionescu tells me about the full-court press she got from Steph Curry to sign with Under Armor and why she eventually chose to stick with Nike instead - "it was really hard - Steph has been my favorite player since he entered the league." Elite women are less likely to become more visible by going to the WNBA, NWSL, or other leagues. Making an accurate assessment of what an elite woman athlete might earn under relaxed NIL rules is difficult, in part because we still don’t know exactly what the marketplace rules are going to be. Reno 911 and Hyperbole and a Half are back! Elena Delle Donne most recently helped inspire Nike's new Flyease sneaker last year, a universal strap-affixed shoe designed with athletes with disabilities in mind, in honor of her sister Lizzie Delle Donne, but it isn't technically regarded as a true signature shoe. ", "Obviously going to an Oregon school and coming from Nike and knowing Phil Knight and just knowing everyone on the Nike side [factored into the decision]," she told ESPN's Rachel Nichols in a video conversation. And so I think now taking kind of two weeks, fast forward what I had thought before starting this, I do think a shoe would be really cool or like a clothing line or something, which would be awesome, and would be kind of beyond belief just because I'm so used to buying other people's shoes, and kind of looking up to them. But both women I spoke to were bullish that an elite athlete could make a lot money. A former college basketball player herself, Darvin studies gender equity in college athletics. ", Matthew Kirwin, Sports Africa Network for ESPN, Sabrina Ionescu drafted 1st overall by Liberty (2:17), No. 1 in the country. Per Sports Illustrated's Kellen Becoats, no current WNBA player has a signature shoe. Ionescu is hoping to one day earn that distinction and potentially change the narrative around the industry's lack of female representation in the rare air of signature sneakers. The Ducks hadn't made the NCAA tournament in 11 years before Ionescu arrived. Jumping up to the NFL or NBA usually increases individual marketability. A lot of the discussion about changing Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) legislation has centered on elite male athletes like Chase Young and Tua Tagovailoa. The reigning NCAA national player of the year and the WNBA's No. They knocked off the United States national team in a scrimmage. “I actually think women have the most to gain from this NIL legislation,” Darvin said. “I think, from a barrier standpoint, there’s a stereotype that women should not be athletes,” Darvin said. “So some of the old stereotypes and the old barriers that women face in this industry just continue, right? According to Darvin, exposure has a lot to do with that. [Note: The Duck Store at the University of Oregon declined to share how many jerseys were sold, but did say that the school hoped to have green versions of Oregon women’s basketball jerseys by mid-December.

But right now, you’re not seeing the same investments being made on the women’s side as on the men’s side. She’s one of the best, most exciting and well-known women college athletes in the country. "Together, we're going to bring even more excitement to the game of basketball and inspire the next generation of athletes.". 1 overall in the upcoming WNBA Draft. “I think softball’s actually the best comparison to me,” Dosh said. During the late 1990s, Reebok launched its lone "Lobo" model for Liberty star Rebecca Lobo, while Fila released the "Nikki Delta" for Nikki McCray. With Ionescu at the helm, they were slated for a fourth consecutive tourney berth this spring. In 2011, Maya Moore became the first WNBA player to sign with Jordan Brand. Undoubtedly, once current NCAA policy changes — either internally, or by legislative force — football and basketball players will be able to earn significant sums of money. But once you bring in the endorsement side, you could be approaching a million, absolutely.”.

Dosh agrees with Darvin that apparel companies could do a better job of anticipating the demand created by women athletes. Sparks' Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike volunteered as poll workers in Houston today , Ionescu underwent a 'minor ankle procedure' to remove a loose bone chip.

"Before this all happened, I never thought about it because I didn't think it was even a possibility, because women don't usually have signature shoes," Ionescu said on NBC Sports' "Runnin' Plays" podcast.

Ionescu noted she was hoping to secure a signature shoe from whichever brand she signed with: "I think before this all happened, I never thought about it because I didn't think it was even a possibility because women don't usually have signature shoes. A month after the tragic January death of Bryant, his daughter and seven others in a Los Angeles-area helicopter crash, Ionescu was one of a select few in the basketball community to speak during the memorial service at Staples Center in February. While Ionescu has since hired agency WME to handle additional marketing endorsement deals, such as her new deal with headphone company Beats By Dre, she has navigated the shoe talks on her own, discussing plans and potential campaigns with brands over a series of video conferences and telephone calls in the past month. Adidas released "Ace" sneakers headlined by Candace Parker. A post shared by Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i) on Apr 17, 2020 at 5:16pm PDT.

The debate around NIL legislation is about so much more than giving men’s basketball and football players a chance to earn money.

Will Aces be even better?

Soccer match ruined when AI-controlled camera mistakes ref’s bald head for ball, Dorktown: The 2019 Nationals did something in three straight games that’s barely ever been done in two, A three-day, head-spinning fiesta of extra-base hits, The time an innocent rule change reduced an soccer match to chaos. What does that mean for elite women athletes like Ionescu? Fresh off being the No. Sabrina Ionescu, who earlier Friday night was taken with the first overall pick in the WNBA draft, announced she has signed a shoe deal with Nike.

1 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft by the New York Liberty, Sabrina Ionescu is now one of the key faces of Nike Basketball. I also reached out to Nike, but they did not respond] “So you’re looking at $75,000 just from a day of sales for an elite player like that.

They’re not gone. I am truly honored and blessed for this opportunity #justdoit. Ionescu's future impact and potential are believed to extend far beyond the floor, as brand reps and industry executives speak of her in generational tones -- a role model who could inspire a future generation of young girls and boys to play the game.

"Listening to a lot of these companies and the goals and visions that they had to have a signature shoe down the line, I was like, 'Oh, actually that would be pretty cool.'". I also reached out to Nike, but they did not respond] “So you’re looking at $75,000 just from a day of sales for an elite player like that. On Friday, Ionescu signed an exclusive multi-year marketing deal with Nike: Breaking: Sabrina Ionescu signs with Nike @brkicks https://t.co/JamW9RxQGT. Barbados vs. Grenada started out as a normal, high-stakes game.

And having a relationship with Phil Knight and being a Nike athlete for the last 10 years of my basketball career is also appealing. Dosh is a sports business contributor for Forbes, and works as a consultant to athletic departments. Darvin is an assistant professor of sport management at SUNY Cortland. Our biggest questions for 2021 WNBA season, How Steph Curry, Russell Wilson and other sports stars celebrated Halloween. It was a really tough decision for me, but ultimately I think Nike is the best decision -- just kind of staying loyal to my roots and continuing to be a Nike athlete at the professional level. Ionescu earned an undergraduate degree at Oregon in general social sciences, along with a minor in legal sciences, in just 36 months on campus. If they can’t get those minimum, they can’t convince Adidas or Nike or Under Armour to make them.”. “However, in order to make the most money through YouTube, they have to have the time to produce long form content, and all the social media marketers I spoke to really questioned whether a student-athlete has the time to be creating the kind of long form video content that brands are looking for.”.