DALLAS — Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will likely be playing against each other for a very long time.
The breakout stars leading Iowa and Louisiana State to the N.C.A.A. women’s basketball championship game on Sunday — a first for both teams — are two of the best players in the country, with some of the most lucrative marketing deals among college athletes.
They were the headliners of a remarkable 2020 recruiting class that has achieved atmospheric heights in women’s college basketball. Reese was ranked No. 2 in the group coming out of high school, just behind Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers. Clark was ranked No. 4, with Stanford’s Cameron Brink at No. 3.
All four of those players are likely to be household names well beyond college. They’ve already achieved a significant level of individual fame, and, once they reach the W.N.B.A., they are primed for long professional careers.
They are among the lucky few.
The opportunities in basketball for many female athletes peak at the Final Four. The spotlight is rarely brighter, and beyond the trophy awaiting Sunday’s winner is the earning potential newly available to the women who stand out. Players across the country who lack the star power of Reese or Clark are still able to make money within their fan bases.
But after…
