March Madness: The NIL Showcase
In the NCAA’s Name, Image, and Likeness era, March Madness presents the best opportunity for college basketball’s biggest stars to cash in. This year, some of the best players on the court are also the highest earners off of it, with NIL giving them the ability to profit off sponsorship deals and appearances.
No activity is more valuable to a college athlete than posting on social media. According to Opendorse, an athlete marketplace and NIL technology company, over 40% of total NIL compensation through January 2023 came from social posts as the largest single category. And outside of football, men’s and women’s college basketball rank as the top earning sports by NIL compensation.
For that reason, we’ve ranked some of the top college basketball players by social following, one of the strongest indicators of NIL value, to illustrate the earning potential for athletes in this NIL age. One of the main takeaways from our rankings is that, of the 15 most-followed athletes in college basketball this year, 10 are women. This trend follows a report from the 2021 NCAA Tournament which indicated that eight of the 10 athletes in the Elite Eight with the greatest earning power were women. The 2021 Opendorse study took into account both Twitter and Instagram followers and estimated annual earnings.
In last year’s Sweet 16, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith had the highest social media earning potential among men’s and women’s players, according to Opendorse. One social media post from Bueckers was estimated to be worth $62,900, while one from Van Lith was valued at $44,200.
March Madness, college basketball’s single-elimination postseason tournament, is one of the biggest money drivers in sports with most of that being driven by the buzz around making March Madness Picks and, of course, the March Madness Bracket: Of the $1.16 billion the NCAA made in 2021, more than 85% of it came from March Madness. When athletes’ individual brands collide with the national exposure of the NCAA Tournament stage, the earning potential goes through the roof.
Which athletes in this year’s tournament (and outside of it) have the chance to make the most money?
Men’s Basketball
| Player | School/Team | Instagram followers |
| Victor Wenbanyama | Metropolitans 92 (LNB Pro A) | 1,200,000 |
| Shaqir O’Neal | San Francisco | 929,000 |
| Amari Bailey | UCLA | 566,000 |
| Emoni Bates | Eastern Michigan | 459,000 |
| Jahvon Quinerly | Alabama | 399,000 |
| Caleb Love | North Carolina | 325,000 |
| Scoot Henderson | NBA G League Ignite | 183,000 |
| Gradey Dick | Kansas | 152,000 |
| Doug Edert | Bryant | 151,000 |
| Armando Bacot | North Carolina | 148,000 |
| Hercy Miller | Louisville | 142,000 |
| Keyonte George | Baylor | 123,000 |
| Amen Thompson | City Reapers (Overtime Elite) | 107,000 |
| Drew Timme | Gonzaga | 89,600 |
| Oscar Tshiebwe | Kentucky | 85,200 |
| Dariq Whitehead | Duke | 84,900 |
| Ausar Thompson | City Reapers (Overtime Elite) | 74,900 |
Women’s Basketball
| Player | School/Team | Instagram followers |
| Paige Bueckers | UConn | 1,000,000 |
| Flau’jae Johnson | LSU | 786,000 |
| Hailey Van Lith | Louisville | 669,000 |
| Hanna Cavinder | Miami | 495,000 |
| Haley Cavinder | Miami | 491,000 |
| Angel Reese | LSU | 376,000 |
| Jaden Owens | Baylor | 251,000 |
| Azzi Fudd | UConn | 231,000 |
| Zia Cooke | South Carolina | 229,000 |
| Cameron Brink | Stanford | 223,000 |
| Caitlin Clark | Iowa | 170,000 |
| Aliyah Boston | South Carolina | 112,000 |
| Haley Jones | Stanford | 102,000 |
2023 most-followed college basketball players
Paige Bueckers – 1,000,000 IG followers
Shaqir O’Neal – 929,000
Flau’jae Johnson – 786,000
Hailey Van Lith – 669,000
Amari Bailey – 566,000
Hanna Cavinder – 495,000
Haley Cavinder – 491,000
Emoni Bates – 459,000
Jahvon Quinerly – 399,000
Angel Reese – 376,000
Caleb Love – 325,000
Jaden Owens – 251,000
Azzi Fudd – 231,000
Zia Cooke – 229,000
Cameron Brink – 223,000
Gradey Dick – 152,000
The list above excludes non-college athletes like Victor Wenbanyama and Scoot Henderson. While the NCAA continues to be the best pipeline to the WNBA, NBA prospects now have the option to play for professional and developmental leagues, such as Overtime Elite and the NBA G League. Wenbanyama, the consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft, plays for a professional team in his native France.
Additionally, six of the women’s basketball players with the biggest Instagram followings are a part of the 2024 and 2025 draft classes. Their freshman years coincided with NIL going into effect, allowing them to build and profit off of their individual brands at the start of their college careers. With their online popularity, these athletes have also been at the forefront of bringing more exposure to the women’s game and fostering gender equity between the men’s and women’s tournaments.
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