WNBA All-Star and Randallstown native, Angel Reese, is talking about magazine articles and cereal boxes.
Reese landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Power List, which highlights the 50 most influential people in all of sports. The second annual list published on Wednesday highlights athletes, icons and leaders, managers and influencers. The athletic team features several from the WNBA, including Reese, fellow rookie Caitlin Clark and most valuable player A’ja Wilson.
The Chicago Sky Rookie is also gearing up for a collaboration with Reese’s Puffs as the new face of the “Angel X Reese’s Puffs” cereal boxes, available in late October. The collaboration includes four recent designs, followed by “an exciting collaboration later this year that continues to combine his talent and passion for basketball and fashion,” General Mills said in a press release.
“I am very happy to be associated with such a unique brand. Not only does this fulfill my childhood dream of being in a cereal box, but there couldn’t be a better place for me to join REESE’S PUFFS cereal,” Reese said in a press release. .This collaboration is a huge honor, and I can’t wait for fans to get their hands on the cereal box and see what comes next in this collaboration.
Reese, 22, reportedly has endorsement deals worth several million, more than most WNBA players, according to Sarah Zipp, director of athletic administration at the University of Mount St. . Mary.
Reese, along with other members of the WNBA’s rookie squad, helped bring the WNBA to a new level as they landed larger endorsement deals.
“We see a way to provide greater recognition for WNBA players and more visibility for WNBA games,” Zipp said. “These go hand in hand because the greater visibility of the players makes them more marketable for brands.”
A number of factors contribute to the growth of the WNBA’s rising player prices. In particular, players like Reese and Clark were able to build their online presence before going professional thanks to the NCAA allowing name, image and likeness endorsements in college.
Reese was one of the biggest stars during his college years at LSU and benefited from NIL deals to the tune of $2 million, Zipp said. Her success continued into the WNBA.
Clark is probably the most popular player in the WNBA, based on her stellar college career, according to Zipp. He has a $28 million deal with Nike and has contracts with other major brands such as Gatorade, Wilson and State Farm, Zipp said.
“Of course, they’re both incredibly successful athletes, and their personalities have increased their popularity and sales,” Zipp said. “Many of these deals are based on her NIL days from college and she continues to be a franchise in the WNBA.”
There was a perception gap between sponsorship, viewers and media coverage, Zipp said. The long-standing argument has been that there isn’t a large fan base for women’s basketball, but according to Zipp, a lack of media coverage, funding and resources have held the sport back.
“If you can increase visibility, you can increase sponsorship money. But if there is less media coverage, it’s hard to build an audience,” said Zipp. “NIL’s partnerships helped open loop so players can get around media gatekeepers to build their following through social media and other marketing campaigns. The popularity of players like Reese and Clark in the sports arena and in the sports market shows that there is a strong and loyal following. ”
Based on this trend in women’s basketball and other role models such as Simone Biles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Katie Ledecky, opportunities may continue to grow for women in sports in the US and around the world, Zipp he said.
Originally published:
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