Bruins women's basketball team lands first-ever team-wide NIL deal at UCLA
The nationally ranked UCLA women’s basketball team has a new team-wide NIL deal with Wescom Credit Union.
According to Wescom, it’s the first-ever NIL agreement for an entire team at UCLA. The Pasadena, California-based credit union has multiple ties with UCLA athletics. Players will be involved in marketing and promotional activities, such as autograph signings, product endorsements, social media posts and more for the company that is the official banking partner of UCLA athletics.
The Bruins are ranked as the No. 4 team in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll entering the 2023-2024 season. It was the highest preseason ranking for the Bruins since 1999 when UCLA was fifth. Four Bruins players, including shooting guard Charisma Osborne and sophomore point guard Kiki Rice were named to the preseason All-Pac-12 team.
The deal comes at a time when NIL opportunities for female student-athletes have been under scrutiny on Capitol Hill and with advocacy organizations.
During Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee NIL hearing, Walker Jones of the Ole Miss-focused Grove Collective and a leader inside The Collective Association testified that collectives are creating more and more deals for female athletes. He also stressed that the TCA – a trade organization whose membership has grown to 24 NIL entities – is committed to diversity.
But that was met with pushback by NCAA President Charlie Baker.
“With all due respect to you, Walker (Jones), nobody knows what is going on,” Baker said. “It’s a guess and rumor. When people say we’re doing much better when it comes to women student-athletes on NIL, I don’t know if that’s true.”
Deal provides ‘economic opportunity’ for UCLA players
What is true is the deal between the UCLA women’s basketball team and Wescom is a positive step forward.
“Our new NIL partnership with all members of the UCLA women’s basketball team not only furthers our already deep connection with UCLA Athletics, but this collaboration will help advance women’s athletic programs while providing economic opportunity for UCLA’s female student-athletes,” Ashley White of Wescom said in a statement.
“We are proud to offer our continued support and comprehensive financial resources to the Bruin community, helping build better lives on and off campus.”
Expect Rice and Osborne to be a big part of the campaign for Wescom.
Rice has more than 71,000 followers on social media and arrived at UCLA as one of the most highly decorated high school basketball players in the country. Rice was named the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year and the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2021-22.
During the 2022-2023 season, Rice was named Pac-12 All-Freshman for both coaches and media honors and earned Pac-12 All-Tournament team for her performance in the conference postseason competition. She was the first freshman since Jordin Canada to have 400-plus points, 100-plus assists and 100-plus made free throws in her inaugural season at UCLA.
Rice has been a major force in the NIL world. She’s struck deals previously with Buick, Jordan Brand and Dove. In fact, she was Jordan Brand’s first NIL athlete.
Osborne comes off an All-Pac-12 (coaches and media) season in which she landed ninth all-time for the Bruins in points scored (1,798 points). She was also named to the WBCA All-America honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention after the 2022-23 season. Osborne has more than 10,800 followers on her social media accounts.