Report: LSU athletics receives $1 million, athletes to earn NIL money for  upcoming Amazon docuseries

Amazon Prime Video recently greenlit a docuseries on LSU athletics. It will be called The Money Game and is set to follow the department’s on and off-field success for the 2023-2024 athletics seasons, with a focus on NIL.

Now, according to a report by Sportico, Campfire Film & TV is paying LSU $1 million for the rights to produce show. On top of that, participating athletes are set to be paid a “talent fee” as a form of NIL compensation for appearing in the show. Those fees are to be negotiated between Campfire and the athletes themselves, and they’re in addition to the $1 million paid to LSU.

Interestingly, coaches who appear in the show aren’t set to receive the same kind of talent fee as the athletes involved.

The Money Game is set to be directed by Drea Cooper. Along with Campfire Film & TV, it will be produced by Axios Entertainment and Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey Legends, a division of Authentic Studios

Among the LSU athletes involved in the show are All-American women’s basketball star Angel Reese, Roc Nation-signed rapper Flau’jae Johnson, Heisman-Trophy winning quarterback Jayden Daniels, and famed gymnast Livvy Dunne.

Each of those athletes involved will be given a contract that outlines their responsibilities as it relates to the series. On top of that, amid uncertain NIL rules, Campfire and LSU agreed on what athletes are “key participants,” and then the school is “permitting” those interviews to occur.

Perhaps no athlete has benefited from the NIL era more than Livvy Dunne. With 12.4 million total social media followers, Dunne has a $3.5 million On3 NIL Valuation. She is also third in the On3 NIL 100, only behind Bronny James and Shedeur Sanders. That also makes her first in the On3 College Gymnastics NIL Rankings, ahead of multiple Olympic gymnasts like Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey.

Angel Reese has found similar success in NIL, becoming one of the best known women’s basketball players. She has a $1.7 million On3 NIL Valuation and is seventh in the On3 NIL 100. She’s not alone on the women’s basketball team, though, as Flau-jae Johnson also has a valuation of $1.1 million and is 16th on the NIL 100 list.

In a press release for the show, it was made clear that NIL is going to be a key focus for the docuseries.

“The docuseries follows, in real time, a historic turning point in the NCAA upon policy changes on name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights—guaranteed to shape the trajectory of college sports forever—highlighted by the surreal experiences of LSU’s top players, coaches, and administrators,” the press release stated. “LSU, the flagship university of the state of Louisiana, is one of the most iconic brands in college athletics. LSU boasts an SEC-best 51 team national championships and is currently home to three of the top-10 collegiate earners in NIL.”

LSU chief brand officer Cody Worsham also told Sportico that the school spoke to six or eight different companies before signing with Campfire for this project.