UCLA Women’s Soccer Forward Reilyn Turner Secures Historic NIL Deal With Nike

Turner started all 20 games for the Bruins in 2021, earning second-team All-Pacific Region and All-Pac-12 honors.

(Photo Courtesy of Rand Bleimeister/UCLA Athletics)

After wrapping up the season in November, one of the Bruins’ top playmakers has begun her offseason by securing a one-of-a-kind name, image and likeness deal.

Alumni of UCLA women’s soccer have earned sponsorship deals in the past with premier sports brands. Nike, for example, currently sponsors Jessie Fleming in her professional career overseas after she played for the Bruins from 2016 to 2019. Tuesday morning, sophomore forward Reilyn Turner added her name to the group of athletes with Nike deals, becoming the first-ever college athlete the sportswear brand has signed to a NIL contract.

“As a Black woman and Mexican American, I think about those who have paved the way for me and how they used their platforms to create so much change, even beyond sport,” Turner said in a statement. “I hope to be a role model for those around me and those after me, and I’m so excited to be a part of what Nike is bringing to the future of women’s sport.”

Making an Instagram post about the announcement, Turner expressed gratitude over the partnership.

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A post shared by Reilyn Turner (@reilynturner)

By making NIL deals with college student-athletes, Nike plans to have each agreement feature an “element that connects back to their local communities.” In her statement, Turner said that she would like to make a positive impact on her community because of the influence that people from her life have created for her.

Nike currently is the lead sponsor for UCLA women’s soccer, as well as the United States Women’s National Team, who Turner currently plays for at the U-20 level.

Turner played her way into the spotlight ever since her debut season in 2020, racking up 21 goals across her first two campaigns in Westwood. The 2020 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year added to her honors in 2021, earning All-Pac-12 recognition.

Playing alongside the departing forward Mia Fishel, Turner solidified herself as one of the Bruins’ top attacking options with a hat-trick versus LMU on Sept. 5. Then, in the Pac-12 title-clinching game against USC, the 19-year-old scored the first and assisted the second goal on the way to UCLA’s 3-1 victory.

Looking to the future, Nike will likely have NIL agreements with student-athletes around the country, but for now, Turner is the very first from the collegiate landscape, regardless of gender or sport.

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