Nike extended its contract with USC superstar JuJu Watkins on Tuesday, reaping the rewards of a relationship it cultivated long before she set foot on a college basketball court.

Watkins first signed with Nike in October 2022—about a year ahead of her Trojans debut. At the time, she was a five-star recruit at Sierra Canyon School north of L.A. who had yet to become a household name.

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Her original agreement with Nike wouldn’t have been possible before the name, image and likeness era, which has enabled amateur athletes—including those in high school—to capitalize on their popularity.

Nike’s proactive signing of pre-WNBA talent such as Watkins to NIL sponsorship deals has helped it secure several up-and-coming players with passionate fan bases. Also under the company’s umbrella are Caitlin Clark, the WNBA’s newly-minted Rookie of the Year, and Paige Bueckers, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft.

Watkins, Bueckers and Clark were 2023-24 First-Team All-Americans, giving Nike a leg up among shoe producers during the most-watched women’s college basketball campaign of all time.

It soon became clear Nike struck gold with its early recruiting of Watkins.

During her freshman season at USC, Watkins scored 51 points in a road upset of No. 4 Stanford, a single-game scoring record for Trojans women’s basketball and the most any Stanford team had allowed in one game. Watkins went on to lead USC to a Pac-12 Tournament title, and she helped the Trojans reach the Elite Eight at the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

ESPN was first to report Watkins’ Nike extension on Tuesday, the financial terms of which have not been disclosed.

Watkins has built a massive following off the court, appearing on athlete podcasts such as NBA star Paul George’s “Podcast P,” throwing out the first pitch at a Dodgers game and sitting courtside at nationally televised basketball games. The rising sophomore has more than 980,000 followers on Instagram and more than 180,000 followers on TikTok.

As more women’s basketball players earn signature shoe deals, including Clark, it might only be a matter of time until Watkins boasts a sneaker of her own.

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