Is Social Media How Female Athletes Flip the Script?

It has been 50 years since President Richard Nixon signed the Education Amendments Acts of 1972 and 44 years since Title IX because mandatory in college sports. This greatly increased the number of female athlete participants, which rose tenfold to more than three million high school athletes in 2012 (History).

The girls who continue from high school sports into the college arena are now fighting for greater recognition in a new space – name, image, and likeness (NIL).

If you ask people their broad assumption about where the NIL money is, they will say football and men’s basketball, but there are women all across the industry who are proof to the contrary.

According to CNBC, “NIL-signed female athletes can compensate for the lack of attention that women’s sports have historically received by focusing on expanding their social media followers and engagement.”  The numbers never lie. Female athletes engage in social media 19.6% more than fellow male athletes (Opendorse). 

This engagement has paid off big time. According to Axios, the two biggest March Madness social media stars from last year are women. Kendall Baker wrote: “UConn's Paige Bueckers and Louisville's Hailey Van Lith have the highest social media earning potential among Sweet 16 players, per exclusive data from Opendorse, and women's players make up 11 of the top 20 athletes.” 

A post from Bueckers is worth $62,900, and Van Lith’s are worth $44,200. This overshadows the closest male basketball player, Chet Holmgren, at $10,400. For context, Holmgren was drafted second overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2022 NBA Draft. 

In another sport, gymnastics, experts predict that LSU’s Olivia Dunne will earn more than $2 million over the next year, largely due to “posting to her eight-million strong internet following on Instagram and TikTok platforms” (New York Times). 

The New York Times echoes the sentiment of many other well-informed sources – “Women are more than holding their own as earners thanks largely to leveraging their social media popularity.” They do it without “collectives formed by wealthy supporters who pay male athletes for everything from jersey sales to public appearances” (New York Times).

While all athletes can benefit from name, image, and likeness, it is important to remember that female athletes carry value all their own and can go head-to-head with male athletes in the space.