Angel Reese featured in new NIL-inspired Leaf trading card
LSU star Angel Reese continues to strike while the NIL iron is hot.
Reese, the All-America playmaker for the Tigers, cashed in on her name, image and likeness throughout the season with deals with Intuit TurboTax, JanSport, Bose, Sonic and releasing “Bayou Barbie” merchandise. Then after leading the Tigers to their first-ever national title and being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Reese has ramped up her name, image and likeness activity with head-turning deals this week with Raising Cane’s and limited-edition jerseys with Campus Ink.
The list of attention-grabbing NIL deals continued on Friday.
Reese has a new NIL deal with Leaf Training Cards. Reese is featured on two unique Pro-Set cards. The Pro-Set series recreates a design that was popular in the late 1980s and early 90s. Leaf recently brought the design back into circulation. A lot of top athletes’ first cards with Leaf are part of the Pro-Set series because of the historical meaning with the company.
“Leaf Trading Cards is beyond excited to land the biggest name in women’s college basketball,” CJ Breen with Leaf told On3. “Over the past few weeks, it has become very clear that Angel is going to become a game changer in the collectible and memorabilia space.
“This partnership is a huge step in the right direction for the representation of women’s college athletes regarding NIL deals. Leaf prides itself in being a pioneer and helping grow visibility for women in trading cards.”
Angel Reese latest to appear on NIL trading card
Leaf has emerged as a popular trading card company for athletes in NIL.
Livvy Dunne released the “first gymnastics NIL trading card the world has ever seen” with the company back in December. The company has also been aggressive in college football, working with Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava and USC Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams. In late March, Leaf also issued special edition trading cards featuring Miami women’s basketball players Hanna and Haley Cavinder.
Along with household college names, Leaf has also partnered with other student-athletes that had viral moments. This includes Division III basketball player Connor “Big Cozy” Williams of St. John Fisher University. He was featured in a January release by Leaf as part of a NIL deal.
Bayou Barbie developing into NIL ‘unicorn’
With more than 2.9 million social media followers – including 1.5 million alone on TikTok – Angel Reese has become more than a women’s basketball player and a NIL star.
Reese has gone from LSU sensation to social media influencer. The sky’s the limit for her earning potential moving forward.
“She’s not just a student-athlete anymore or a marketable women’s basketball player where we’re doing these one-off deals,” Ogbonnaya told On3’s Pete Nakos earlier this week. “I think at this point, she’s got the following to back it up where she can be doing long-term partnerships that truly align with her brand and her messaging, and finding those brands that align with that as well.
“I think this whole weekend, really, everyone took notice of her lashes and her lip gloss, how beautiful she is. The modeling, the fashion and the lifestyle space is definitely something that we’re really pushing toward.”