[BillBradley]

To me, there is no rhyme or reason but there are clearly two categories. Category 1 are “influencers” - people who have amassed a large following on social media but are not at the top of their sport. You said Prince gets paid $500k and I think she is at best a mediocre bball player but through luck went viral piggybacking off an issue our strength and conditioning coach first brought to light. Or someone like the Cavinder twins who were apparently the highest paid bball players at over $2M but quit after one season at Miami because being pros and bypassing Nil rules altogether will be more lucrative. 

Category 2 are the truly gifted players that are also marketable like Clark, Buekers, Azzi, HVL and Brink, etc. I don’t think all these players are paid the same and it’s likely they are the only one on their team or in their conference seeing the type of money Category 1 players have.

So what happens to everyone else? That is the question Geno asked last year. If you get beyond the cockiness, the guy is very insightful and keeps evolving and he sees things before everyone else does. This was over a year ago. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_XA6y8XzuZ...YSBuaWw%3D

I think those categories are a pretty good way to look at it. And agree, Geno knows what he's doing. My only small edit would be that the "there's only a couple NIL players on each team" comment might have been accurate a year ago, but it's changed a lot since then. Today, I think there are some leading-edge programs where more than the top couple make a bunch (and the dollar figure is way higher than a year ago) and most of the team is getting something. I wonder where UConn falls in that mix today?

The more I learn about the numbers and the more I understand the earning potential for these players... are we going to see the 2024 WNBA draft bereft of Brink, Bueckers, Reese, Van Lith and Clark?  Why would any of them sign for the $75K and go to the WNBA, when they could all take their extra year? I guess Reese and Van Lith might be in a different position because they've already used their free transfer, but Bueckers, Brink, and Clark could all transfer. Man what a splash it would make for, say, Brink and Clark to transfer together to a college in a large market and form a superteam. They would make some serious coin! I just threw up a little...

I’d like to be educated a bit more. National endorsements will follow the player to the pros. Otherwise, it would make no economic sense for players like Boston, Cooke, and even Haley to go pro this year. The WNBA is just a prestigious summer gig; the real money is overseas. And I would think you can then secure international endorsements if you are like Breanna Stewart or Plum in those other geos where WBB has been popular for the last 20 or more years unlike the U.S. I am also assuming you are not referring to the money distributed from the “Nil collectives.” So I think you are talking about Category 1 players, or influencers, and again that market is pretty saturated. Most influencers really engage their very strange and inappropriate audiences every day, have Q&A sessions and really interact and show their everyday life. That is not going to work for most players - either the audience won’t be interested in them or they won’t be interested in the audience. I mean, who could have predicted Prince would take off and gain a following in early 2021? No one. A lot of it is pure luck. But maybe not. I’d like to know what you know. Wouldn’t their following also follow them to the pros or want to hear about their travels in Europe as a pro?

Taurasi and Griner were making at least $1 million a year in Russia. Of course that market is gone but other geos like China and Turkey pay well.

I think there's a ton of nuance here in this "influencer" space. And by no means am I an expert! From what I've seen, some have followings because of their interaction with their fans. But most combine their personality with things like fashion. This is where Cam is headed (and Cavenders and others). Just look on her Instagram and you can see all the endorsing she does. Does that change when she leaves college and goes to the WNBA? Yes, I think it does. See more in my post to Chimera along the same lines, but the WNBA is just not that popular. It might have some prestige to it, but it is not popular. Then there's other influencers that are "trying to change the world". That's the Sedona Princes of the world, and Cam does some meaningful stuff sharing her story and helping others with mental health issues. Another one is the creation of their future in broadcasting, which is where Haley wants to go (a la Chiney, Candace Parker, etc.). From what I can tell, she cares way more about her podcast than her fashion stuff.  

As for the international scene, I don't know much there. Just don't follow it enough to know.

[BillBradley]

To me, there is no rhyme or reason but there are clearly two categories. Category 1 are “influencers” - people who have amassed a large following on social media but are not at the top of their sport. You said Prince gets paid $500k and I think she is at best a mediocre bball player but through luck went viral piggybacking off an issue our strength and conditioning coach first brought to light. Or someone like the Cavinder twins who were apparently the highest paid bball players at over $2M but quit after one season at Miami because being pros and bypassing Nil rules altogether will be more lucrative. 

Category 2 are the truly gifted players that are also marketable like Clark, Buekers, Azzi, HVL and Brink, etc. I don’t think all these players are paid the same and it’s likely they are the only one on their team or in their conference seeing the type of money Category 1 players have.

So what happens to everyone else? That is the question Geno asked last year. If you get beyond the cockiness, the guy is very insightful and keeps evolving and he sees things before everyone else does. This was over a year ago. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_XA6y8XzuZ...YSBuaWw%3D

I think those categories are a pretty good way to look at it. And agree, Geno knows what he's doing. My only small edit would be that the "there's only a couple NIL players on each team" comment might have been accurate a year ago, but it's changed a lot since then. Today, I think there are some leading-edge programs where more than the top couple make a bunch (and the dollar figure is way higher than a year ago) and most of the team is getting something. I wonder where UConn falls in that mix today?

The more I learn about the numbers and the more I understand the earning potential for these players... are we going to see the 2024 WNBA draft bereft of Brink, Bueckers, Reese, Van Lith and Clark?  Why would any of them sign for the $75K and go to the WNBA, when they could all take their extra year? I guess Reese and Van Lith might be in a different position because they've already used their free transfer, but Bueckers, Brink, and Clark could all transfer. Man what a splash it would make for, say, Brink and Clark to transfer together to a college in a large market and form a superteam. They would make some serious coin! I just threw up a little...

I’d like to be educated a bit more. National endorsements will follow the player to the pros. Otherwise, it would make no economic sense for players like Boston, Cooke, and even Haley to go pro this year. The WNBA is just a prestigious summer gig; the real money is overseas. And I would think you can then secure international endorsements if you are like Breanna Stewart or Plum in those other geos where WBB has been popular for the last 20 or more years unlike the U.S. I am also assuming you are not referring to the money distributed from the “Nil collectives.” So I think you are talking about Category 1 players, or influencers, and again that market is pretty saturated. Most influencers really engage their very strange and inappropriate audiences every day, have Q&A sessions and really interact and show their everyday life. That is not going to work for most players - either the audience won’t be interested in them or they won’t be interested in the audience. I mean, who could have predicted Prince would take off and gain a following in early 2021? No one. A lot of it is pure luck. But maybe not. I’d like to know what you know. Wouldn’t their following also follow them to the pros or want to hear about their travels in Europe as a pro?

Taurasi and Griner were making at least $1 million a year in Russia. Of course that market is gone but other geos like China and Turkey pay well.

I think there's a ton of nuance here in this "influencer" space. And by no means am I an expert! From what I've seen, some have followings because of their interaction with their fans. But most combine their personality with things like fashion. This is where Cam is headed (and Cavenders and others). Just look on her Instagram and you can see all the endorsing she does. Does that change when she leaves college and goes to the WNBA? Yes, I think it does. See more in my post to Chimera along the same lines, but the WNBA is just not that popular. It might have some prestige to it, but it is not popular. Then there's other influencers that are "trying to change the world". That's the Sedona Princes of the world, and Cam does some meaningful stuff sharing her story and helping others with mental health issues. Another one is the creation of their future in broadcasting, which is where Haley wants to go (a la Chiney, Candace Parker, etc.). From what I can tell, she cares way more about her podcast than her fashion stuff.  

As for the international scene, I don't know much there. Just don't follow it enough to know.