Hailey Van Lith is returning to college hoops next season, but it’ll be at a new school. Boardroom explores the NIL moves she made at Louisville prior to entering the portal.
As a two-time All-ACC selection, Hailey Van Lith certainly left her mark on the Louisville women’s basketball program. She held averages of 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game this season for a Cardinals team that went all the way to the Elite Eight. And even though Louisville fell to Iowa in that game, Van Lith still had 27 points in the losing effort.
Shortly after, Van Lith announced she was entering the transfer portal as a graduate transfer, wrapping up her Louisville career as the 12th-leading scorer in program history. She immediately became one of the most sought-after players in the country, entering with a “do not contact” specification, which implies she may know where she wants to go already…or she wants to be the one to control which schools she talks to.
For what it’s worth, Baylor — then coached by LSU’s Kim Mulkey — was one of her top options coming out of school. After winning the national championship this season and losing point guard Alexis Morris, it would be reasonable to surmise that there could be mutual interest in Van Lith donning the purple and gold next year.
Time will tell where Van Lith ends up, but wherever she plays in 2023-24, one thing is certain — the NIL success she had will carry over to her new home. As a business major, she was the first women’s college hoops player to sign with Octagon, an agency that represents the likes of Stephen Curry and Simone Biles, and just recently named Camille Buxeda as its Director of Women’s Basketball.
As we await her decision on her next destination, Boardroom breaks down the deals she had at Louisville and her current NIL valuation.
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Hailey Van Lith NIL Market Value
All data via On3.com’s NIL rankings as of April 11, 2023.
Women’s College Basketball NIL rank: 7
Overall NIL rank: 94
Total followers: 825,000
10-week high: $526,000
10-week low: $479,000
The above monetary figures are via On3’s NIL Valuation, a proprietary algorithm that “establishes the overall NIL market and projected 12-month growth rate by measuring two categories, Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index.”
Notable Hailey Van Lith NIL Deals
Adidas
Adidas is the biggest NIL deal that Van Lith has under her belt, but it also might be the most complicated moving forward.
In August last year, Adidas signed 15 student-athletes nationwide, with Van Lith leading the way in terms of followers. As you can see below, her post hyping up the Louisville-themed Ultraboosts has garnered nearly 50,000 likes on her 719k-follower Instagram.
One has to wonder, however, if this partnership will have any sort of effect on where Van Lith chooses to play out her college career. For instance, hitting on the points above, LSU is sponsored by Nike. Would that be problematic for Van Lith and Adidas? The short answer is likely not, as the Tigers currently have student-athletes on the roster that boast deals with other sportswear companies.
Dick’s Sporting Goods
One of the biggest sporting goods retail companies in the nation, Dick’s Sporting Goods, locked up Van Lith in 2021 when the NIL space was just kicking off. Ironically, in the photos below, she’s reppin’ Nike on her feet.
Overtime x Billionaire Girls Club
While NIL deals have become commonplace in college athletics, it’s not every day that a student-athlete gets to partner with a luxury streetwear brand. For International Women’s Day, Van Lith was front and center as part of a collaboration between Overtime and Billionaire Girls Club that included hoodies and crop tees.
Other notable deals: Valentino, 94 Feet of Game, Invesco QQQ
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