Who tops the list of NIL deals going into Final Four?

As college basketball hits the final stretch of the season, two players in both men's and women's competition, dominate name, image and likeness (NIL) deals. North Carolina's RJ Davis and USC's JuJu Watkins lead all athletes in endorsements over the past year, according to a report from SponsorUnited.

Davis leads all male athletes with 25 NIL deals, followed by Arizona punter Cash Peterman who has 21. Colorado's two-way Heisman winner Travis Hunter broke into the top three with 19 deals. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and LSU basketball player Trace Young rounded out the top five with 17 deals each.

Watkins held down the top spot for female athletes. The USC standout, who just celebrated her own custom shoe by Nike, has 20 NIL deals. The University of Miami twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder have 18 combined, ahead of UConn's Paige Bueckers and Oregon's Deja Kelly with 16 deals each.

While this doesn't represent the top NIL earnings, the list of top ten is still impressive with a total of 169 deals. The NIL economy in college athletics has grown into a $1 billion business since its start almost four years ago, according to the report.

"Basketball consistently dominates NIL deals because it perfectly combines visibility, personality and cultural impact," SponsorUnited CEO Bob Lynch told ESPN. "Players like Caitlin Clark and JuJu Watkins aren't just athletes, they're compelling storytellers whose careers are closely followed from high school through college," Lynch said, adding that basketball culture "resonates on a massive scale." 

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Part of the new wave of NIL deals are tied to social engagement in the influencer space. Eight of the top 10 athletes in audience engagement were women last year. LSU commit Hezly Rivera has as much engagement on social media as Hunter and projected top NBA Draft prospect Cooper Flagg combined. Add that to 75% of the top 150 most engaged-with social posts were from female athletes. 

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However, there is a huge difference between performance and social status between men and women. While all of the top NIL endorsers among female athletes are star players, only three of the top men's endorsers are even starters. Peterman has not appeared in a game since 2022. Young played 10 minutes total for LSU last season, finishing with no points, rebounds or assists. 

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The number of tracked NIL deals grew by only 1% compared to last year, according to the report. Technology and non-alcoholic beverages drove the most growth while retail and apparel brands cut the number of NIL agreements with athletes.