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UCLA Launches New Trading Card Scheme to Benefit Student Athletes

Originally posted on NIL on SI | By Maddy Hudak | Last updated Feb 1, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The UCLA Bruins launched a new partnership for their women's gymnastics team to release name, image, and likeness trading card sets to help their athletes grow their brand value in college sports.

The NIL deal is with ONIT Athlete, which partners with schools to release trading cards featuring their athletes, and the Bruins are smartly capitalizing on the value of Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles.

Each women's gymnast has their own card, and the sets are available in multiple tiers to source revenue to the athletes and keep memorabilia affordable for fans.

Single packs include 14 cards with a mix of base cards, parallels, and rare specialty insert trade cards and cost just $12.99. The platinum box contains six single packs and one guaranteed autograph card for $70. For fans willing to spend $120, they'll receive a super box that features two autographs, one guaranteed by Chiles, as their website displays.

ONIT Athlete announced the partnership on Instagram with a post that featured gymnast Emily Klee personally autographing the available cards. The carousel post displayed several different cards in the school's colors (yellow and blue), and the cards look well-designed and produced.

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Schools are finding creative ways to financially support their student athletes, and a partnership like this is really valuable for women's sports in particular, as conversations about the future of NIL and college sports are only mindful of revenue-generating sports.

While $12 won't change an athlete's life, that revenue stream certainly builds up. Moreover, it provides a tangible item for fans versus a transactional contribution to an NIL collective, one often required just to purchase season tickets for college football teams.

After the Ohio State Buckeyes won the national championship, the only NIL memorabilia available was an autographed Will Howard football. It shone a light on the fact that name, image, and likeness deals don't really translate to that at all, and the landscape lacks a direly needed connection with fans.

A partnership with a company like ONIT Athlete allows for exactly that, and it's one that helps elevate their women athletes in a market that doesn't prioritize them.

Trading cards historically haven't included women, and it's refreshing to see them empowered by a revenue source that also will be a priceless memorabilia for each athlete themselves.

As schools continue to find ways to generate financial resources for student athletes, they should look at the blueprint by the Bruins on an easy and valuable inclusion of their women's sports teams.

This article first appeared on NIL on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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