Editor’s note: Over the past month, The Athletic has spoken with more than 30 women’s college basketball coaches about an array of topics, from tournament expansion to athletic directors to X’s and O’s. These coaches, who hail from power conferences and high mid-majors, were granted anonymity to allow them to speak openly without fear of retribution from their programs or the NCAA. Throughout the week, we’re sharing coaches’ thoughts on the most pressing issues in their sport. Though not every response is included, answers represent all opinions expressed.
When the NCAA approved its first landmark national NIL policy in July 2021, everyone pondered what the college sports landscape would look like after this seismic shift: How much would athletes make? How would it transform sports? Would college sports still be amateur?
Nearly two years later, most of those questions persist.
How much are athletes making? It’s hard to say unless the athlete is open to disclosing financial details, and most are not. Some women’s basketball players have signed major brand partnerships, like Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (Nike, Hy-Vee, Topps), Stanford’s Haley Jones (Nike, The Players Tribune, SoFi), LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson (Puma, Meta), UCLA’s Kiki Rice (Jordan Brand, Dove),…
