These Soccer Players Scored Huge NIL Deals in 2022!

One year after the NCAA allowed NIL deals, where athletes could profit from their name, image, and likeness, they have grown significantly. Female soccer players are gaining more attention and are starting to get signed through all forms of organizations, not just athletic brands and companies.ย 

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Several collegiate womenโ€™s soccer players signed impressive NIL deals earlier this year, including Reilyn Turner, who signed with Nike and later as an ambassador for Naomi Osakaโ€™s suncare brand, Kinlรฒ.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Adidas signed 15 female collegiate athletes to NIL deals, four of which were womenโ€™s soccer players. Not only was this exciting, but they were the first group of student-athletes to sign an NIL deal with the major brand!ย 

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Overall, 2022 was a good year for some significant and historic NIL deals! Here are some of the biggest deals of the year.ย 

 

Maddy Anderson

Maddy Anderson is a goalie for Mississippi State, one of the 15 collegiate athletes who signed with Adidas earlier this year. If you follow MSU womenโ€™s soccer, there is no surprise why Anderson was signed. She is currently MSUโ€™s record holder for career shutouts as a goalie, with 13 total!ย 

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Emily Mason

Sophomore defender for Rutgers soccer, Emily Mason, is another player who signed with Adidas earlier this year. This month, she was named to the All-American Third Team for the 2022 season. Mason also played with the USYNT in the last U20 World Cup and at the Concacaf Womenโ€™s Championship last year.ย 

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Jaiden Thomas and Jameese Joseph

North Carolina Stateโ€™s Jaiden Thomas also signed with Adidas for her senior year. The powerhouse midfielder played every game in her senior season and was heavily relied on during their first-round 2022 NCAA Tournament game.ย 

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Fellow NC State soccer player Jameese Joseph, who recently ranked in the Top Drawer Soccerโ€™s Postseason Top 100 Players list, completed the four womenโ€™s soccer signings with Adidas. Joseph played alongside Emily Mason with the USYNT in the U20 World Cup. She was also named the 2022 NCAA Division I Forward to Watch.ย 

 

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Alyssa and Giselle Thompson

Nike signed the first-ever High School NIL deal with sisters Alyssa and Giselle Thompson, who currently play for Harvard-Westlake High School. They signed a multi-year deal with Nike for an undisclosed amount. Both sisters have played with the USYNT, with Alyssa making her USWNT debut this fall. They are both committed to playing at Stanford University.ย 

 

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Michigan State Womenโ€™s Soccerย 

This is Sparta!, an NIL collective under the organization Charitable Gift America, signed a team-wide NIL deal with the Michigan State Womenโ€™s Soccer team. Each student-athlete will receive $2,500 in January, followed by another $5,000 next fall.ย 

 

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Ally Lemos

UCLA Midfielder Ally Lemos was the first female athlete to sign with Steinberg Sports & Entertainment, an agency that will represent her in finding NIL deals! Lemos is ranked number 22 overall by Top Drawer Soccer and helped UCLA win the 2022 Womenโ€™s College Cup National Championship.ย 

 

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This was an impressive start to NIL signings, so I can only imagine how many more will occur next year. Now that Nike has opened the door to high school signings and with all of the impressive collegiate talent, I wonder who will be signed next!

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