No school has benefited more from NIL than LSU. The athletes in Baton Rouge have benefitted heavily since the ruling on Name, Image, and Likeness was ruled in favor of student-athletes. The series The Money Game gives a behind-the-scenes look at how NIL has changed the lives of six LSU athletes:
Olivia Dunne is a gymnast at LSU and has 15.6M followers.
Jayden Daniels is a quarterback at LSU and has 300k followers
Angel Reese plays basketball at LSU and has 7.9M followers
Flau’jae Johnson plays basketball at LSU and has 3.4M followers
Alia Armstrong runs hurdles at LSU and has 53.2k followers
Trace Young plays basketball at LSU and has 360.5k followers
You’ll hear from these athletes directly along with their parents, siblings, managers, and coaches on the highs and lows of NIL life.
Olivia Dunne has the highest following out of the six LSU athletes and her earnings are quite impressive. For example, there’s a fee associated whenever she posts on social media for a brand. Her average post fee is $125k. The docuseries does a phenomenal job pulling back the veil of NIL deals and the responsibilities that come with them. Olivia’s sister Julz is her social media manager. In one scene in the second episode, “The Price Just Went Up”, Julz had a “to-do” list written up of all the tasks needed to complete for various brands. While some can see the “fun” in this, the athletes do us a favor with transparency, showing exactly how exhausting balancing school, athletic responsibilities, and business deals can be.
Flau’jae Johnson chose to play basketball for LSU because they welcomed her goals and ideas outside of basketball. She wanted to be an entrepreneur and a rapper on top of playing for LSU and the school was confident she could do all three—and not just do them, excel at them. Her 3.4M followers allowed her to amass $3M in NIL earnings.
Trace Young, nicknamed “TikTok Trace” by his coach, was making social media content before NIL was even a thing. Once the new rules were introduced, he discovered his 360.5k followers could help him earn money. After honing into the new landscape, Young monetized his following and brought in an estimated $204k in NIL earnings.
In the case of Jayden Daniels, his rise to stardom came later in his career. After transferring from Arizona State, the Heisman Hopeful drew NIL attention immediately after the Alabama game. After that match, he was approached by Powerade, Beats, Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, and Raising Cane’s. Jayden’s mother Regina mentioned that while they enjoyed the partnerships, they also had to decline a lot of offers because of their ultimate plan of how they wanted him to be viewed. His talent couldn’t be doubted either. Just a week after coming off of concussion protocols, he went up against SEC rival Florida and became the only college player ever to throw for 350 yards and rush over 200 in a single game. Achievements like this were behind his mom’s statement when she said, “We can’t just do any deal, he’s going to be the face of a franchise,” and had the talent to back it up.
Alia Armstrong runs hurdles for LSU. She doesn’t earn as much in NIL deals as her collegiate counterparts (six posts for $750), but her ultimate goal lies in the future: going pro and signing with New Balance. Coming from strong athletic stock (her mom ran hurdles as well), Alia’s faith and determination guide her through school and injuries. It was great to see her get some billboard love too.
Angel Reese made around $7M in NIL deals. She has worked with brands like Coach and Reebok and continues to set trends and break records now that she’s in the WNBA. The series did a great job answering lingering questions fans had after her senior season with LSU. It addressed the racial divide over her trash-talking with Caitlin Clark after the 2023 National Championship, the reason behind her benching during their first home match, and the overwhelming harassment and safety concerns; an issue she shares with schoolmate Livvie Dunne.
Livvie Dunne, Angel Reese, and Flau’Jae are among the top five NIL athletes in earnings nationally because of their social media followings.
The process of paying student-athletes was already difficult, after the announcement of a $2.8 billion settlement that would allow the first revenue-sharing plan for college athletes, there will be tougher waters to navigate ahead.
The Money Game gets an 8.5 out of 10. The series is directed by Drea Cooper and produced by Campfire Studios, Axios Entertainment, and Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey Legends, a division of Authentic Studios. They did a good job with the well-known faces of Reese, Johnson, and Dunne, but it would’ve been more interesting had they delved a bit deeper into the lesser-known Armstrong and Young.
The Money Game is available now on Prime Video
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of Prime Video