SAN ANTONIO – Three members of the South Carolina women’s basketball team may be playing for more than championship rings this season.
A story published by Axios on March 29 projects potential profits for the best college basketball players if legislation hotly debated about name, image and likeness is passed. These laws would allow student-athletes to profit from endorsements, which is prohibited by current NCAA rules. Three Gamecocks are among the top 20 athletes most likely to thrive based on the combined power of their Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Other factors include market size, revenue from the sports department and engagement rate.
South Carolina shipowner Zia Cooke (1) is projected to win $ 178,000 based on a formula that uses Twitter and Instagram accounts, market size, sports department revenue and engagement fee. Sean Rayford / AP
“I’m not too concerned with that right now. Good to know, but I’m kind of focused on the main objective now, ”said USC owner Zia Cooke, who is in San Antonio preparing for the Final Four this weekend. “So, I really have no opinion on that.”
Cooke ranked fifth in the ranking, with 206,000 followers on social media. It was designed to earn $ 178,000 with that visibility.
Initial guards Brea Beal and Destanni Henderson ranked 10th and 12th, respectively, on the list. They won $ 69,000 and $ 81,000, according to Axios’ numbers.
Paige Bueckers, the Connecticut guard who this week became the first freshman to be named National Press of the Year for the Associated Press, leads Axios’ list of combined Twitter and Instagram followers, theoretically translating to $ 328,000 in value.
But with market size a factor, Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith is No. 1 in potential profit, with $ 965,000.
This is certainly much more than “accommodation, food, free education” and the extra $ 5,980 annual stipend that scholarship athletes receive. That last figure was widely discussed on March 31, when the United States Supreme Court heard the NCAA in a case to determine whether student-athlete compensation limits violate antitrust laws.
South Carolina guard Brea Beal (12) would earn $ 69,000 based on figures compiled by Axios. Butch Dill / AP
“The case is not about paying to play. There is a strong belief that it will, ”said NCAA President Mark Emmert during a press conference at the women’s Final Four when the hearing began. “The case is not about name, image and similarity, which many people think it is. The case is about an antitrust issue that really focuses on who has the authority and the ability to make decisions about college sports in general. “
Emmert said that what the Supreme Court “decides or not” does not determine whether student-athletes should pay or not.
The issue returned to the spotlight after several male players wore T-shirts with the words “#NotNCAAProperty” during the NCAA Tournament games. The men’s tournament alone is worth more than $ 1 billion a year for the NCAA.
The Supreme Court hearing included questions from the judges about coaches’ high salaries, whether athletes are controlled by institutions and whether they are oriented towards certain courses.
“Conversation is a hot topic now that everyone is together. I argue that the student-athlete can use her name, image and likeness, ”said USC female trainer Dawn Staley. “How they do it, how we do it to legislate about it, is way above my payment level.”
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case earlier this summer.
South Carolina shipowner Destanni Henderson has grossed $ 81,000 this season, according to Axios. Sam Craft / AP
“My opinion, and most importantly the opinion of universities, of the 1,100 schools that practice university sports, is that student-athletes need to be students, not university employees, that the relationship between a university and a university athlete needs to be a university student and student, not employer and employee, ”said Emmert.
“The question of NIL is not whether student-athletes should be paid by universities or not; it is whether or not they should have the opportunity to generate revenue by monetizing their own name, image and likeness. And I believe that they should and should have been clear about this, as well as schools. “
Nine states have passed NIL laws, but none have been put into action. Emmert said athletes should be compensated, but he wants a uniform approach to the NCAA, not different statutes for different states.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.