LSU basketball star Angel Reese's NIL valuation soars past $1 million
BATON ROUGE – With the national championship trophy in one hand, Flau'jae Johnson sitting next to her side and confetti all around, Angel Reese had one message for potential NIL suitors.
"The price just went up," Reese said.
The price hasn't just gone up for Reese, it has skyrocketed.
Reese, the LSU women's basketball star and self-proclaimed "Bayou Barbie," now has a NIL evaluation of $1.3 million, according to On3 Sports, less than two weeks following the Tigers' national title. It's the highest valuation among all women's college basketball players and No. 3 among all female college athletes.
Before the NCAA Tournament, her On3 NIL valuation was at $371,000.
Reese is also 13th among all athletes and second among LSU athletes, only trailing gymnast Olivia Dunne, who has a $3.5 million valuation.
It's been a whirlwind for Reese, who won the national championship on April 2 and was immediately caught in an online firestorm for her trash-talking during the final minutes of the title game.
Reese, with her team on the verge of a title over Iowa, performed the "you can't see me gesture" in front of Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark before pointing to her ring finger.
"All year I was critiqued about who I was," Reese said after the game. "I don't fit the narrative. I don't fit in a box that y'all want me to be in. I'm too hood. I'm too ghetto. Y'all told me that all year. But when other people do it, y'all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that's going to speak up on what they believe in. It's unapologetically you. That's (why) I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. It was bigger than me."
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Reese generated even more buzz in the following days after First Lady Jill Biden announced that she would be inviting Iowa along with LSU to the White House to celebrate their national title game efforts. The decision to invite Iowa baffled Reese, who said that she would decline the invitation and celebrate with former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama instead.
Reese eventually walked back her statement on SportsCenter, saying that she would join her teammates at the White House. Iowa coach Lisa Bluder had also declined the First Lady's invitation by the time Reese made her appearance on ESPN.
Over the last week and change, Reese has also made an appearance on "Good Morning America" and was parodied on "Saturday Night Live." SNL cast member Punkie Johnson, a New Orleans native, portrayed Reese while sitting next to anchor Michael Che at SNL's Weekend Update desk.
"Yea, I got people big mad," Johnson said after Che commented on her having had a big week. "First, they were mad 'cause I was taunting ... Then, they were mad because I didn't want to go to the White House."
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Angel Reese: LSU basketball star's NIL valuation soars past $1 million
