Exclusive: UCLA Bruins' Kiki Rice Builds Responsible NIL Legacy With TurboTax

UCLA Bruins point guard Kiki Rice is building a legacy on and off the court as a trailblazer in the NIL era.

Rice was recently named one of five finalists for the 2025 Nancy Lieberman Award, recognizing the top point guard in women's college basketball.

Her mentality on the court—one that's seen the junior average a team-leading 4.4 assists per game and three consecutive seasons with over 100 assists—translates to her approach to the name, image, and likeness space.

Kiki Rice spoke exclusively with NIL Daily On SI about her experiences entering college basketball simultaneously with NIL, the challenges traversing the landscape, and how partnerships like hers with TurboTax can simplify a lot of hardships for the new-age student-athlete.

Rice’s career at UCLA began in 2022, just as student athletes were awarded the right to publicity to financially benefit from their name, image, and likeness. It’s all she knows as a college basketball player.

In addition to their on-field responsibilities, these athletes also have to manage time for interviews and other new things. Rice acknowledges these challenges but sees an important payoff.

“I would also say one of the biggest advantages of NIL is the array of opportunities that we have and the experiences and people that we get to meet,” Rice said. “I have a great team around me that can connect me with people that I want to be in rooms with. It's putting myself out there and looking at this NIL opportunity, not only as something that can help me while I'm in college financially, but also as a long-term staple in what I plan to do after playing basketball.”

One of those added responsibilities is the need for financial literacy at a much younger age. Many people don’t start budgeting or paying taxes until they graduate college. It’s overwhelming, as Rice admits, to need to think about these critical but less glamorous details of the NIL space.

Since partnering with TurboTax, Rice has one less mental load to worry about as her No. 2 team prepares for the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament.

“Most students my age are not paying taxes, and finances are something I’ve had to focus on daily since I entered college,” Rice explained. “I’ve partnered with TurboTax, and the tax prep is done for you. They make filing a lot easier and stress-free, which is something I highly value in the environment of a busy collegiate athlete. It’s reliable and consistent, and it’s important for me to not take too much time to think about that stuff. I still want to be a college student and athlete and enjoy life.”

While a lot of the focus is on the bottom line of lucrative NIL deals, there are a lot of intangible traits college athletes can cultivate navigating the space, and Rice recognizes that growth since her career began with the Bruins. 

“It's networking; it's being comfortable around people a lot older than you,” Rice said. “It's developing my personal business. As someone who aspires to be a businesswoman, one day after I'm done playing, having this experience in the NIL world will set me up to be a lot more comfortable with whatever I do after I finish playing.”

Rice promotes the team around her for helping her connect and form relationships to gain NIL opportunities, but she deserves credit for the skills she mentioned that helped her pioneer a landmark deal and keeping true to herself and commitment as a teammate.

After making history as the Jordan Brand’s first NIL athlete and the first to design her own player edition shoe, Rice gifted all her Bruins teammates with a pair of her signature Air Jordan 38 Low “Cherry Blossom” shoes.

She has also utilized her NIL partnership with TurboTax to not just simplify her own life, but that of her teammates and those around her, mirroring her altruistic approach to her Jordan shoe deal.

“One of the coolest things through my NIL partnerships is being able to not only educate myself, but the people around me and my teammates,” Rice said. “Something I’ve taken away from NIL is becoming more financially responsible and aware of a lot of things that come with being an adult. To be able to rely on TurboTax, for example, and their experts to help file taxes, that’s something I can share with my teammates, and that’s important.”

As multiple states introduce legislation aimed at eliminating income tax for student athletes for college football and basketball programs to gain recruiting edges, Rice’s perspective on financial literacy and the importance of learning taxes is a refreshing contrast.

Rice also has a rare sense of connection to her teammates and inclusion with everything she does in NIL, and that’s arguably her brand that will take her off the court farther than any monetary opportunity.

Recommended Articles