With NIL endorsements on the line, having a lot of social media followers for a collegiate athlete can mean big bucks.
And right now on Instagram, four out the top five most-followed NCAA basketball players from the 2025 March Madness tournament are female, according to multiple reports including on Sportskeeda.
Which one guy made the cut? Duke’s Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devil clocks in at 1 million followers. Like many of the most in-demand young athletes, his entire bio consists of the email contact for the person in charge of his NIL “business inquiries.” The popular forward currently stars with two of the women (No. 4 and No. 1) who out-rank him on this list in a Gatorade commercial.
Flagg, however, out-paces the women in endorsement deal income, boasting a $4.8 million NIL valuation, according to On3. (Valuations aren’t available for three of the women on this list.)
Coming in at No. 4 is Juju Watkins, at 1.1 million followers, who also used her bio to spread the word about her agent. But the injured USC star — who partners with Nike, Gatorade and more — did add a personal touch to her platform with her most recent Instagram Story: “Thank you for all the incredible love and support,” began the message to her fans. “Seeing all your messages and kind words has meant the world to me.”
Right above Watkins is TCU star Hailey “HVL” Van Lith, with 1.2 million followers. In addition to a partnership with Gatorade, she also works with beauty brands such as Batiste dry shampoo.
With 2 million followers, the top two spots kick off with Lady Tiger Flau-jae Johnson, who’s currently promoting everything from UBL and Oreo to Samsung and her own recording career. On3 has the LSU guard’s valuation listed as $1.5 million.
And the most-followed Instagram star from this year’s March Madness? UConn guard Paige Bueckers, coming in at 2.2 million followers. Her resume includes deals with Nike, Gatorade, Bose and Verizon. She is listed one spot below Johnson on On3, but without a valuation.
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