Kentucky Women’s Basketball Player Makes Wildcat NIL History

Maddie Scherr is first female Wildcat athlete to land a car dealership deal

Thanks to NIL, Kentucky women's basketball star Maddie Scherr is now cruising around Lexington in a new set of wheels.

The senior and second-leading scorer for the Wildcats made history in the process of signing with Lexington’s Paul Miller Mazda, becoming the first Kentucky women's athlete to score a car dealership deal.

Paul Miller has set Scherr up with a new 2023 Mazda CX-50 Meridian Edition.

“It’s been amazing. I’m just so thankful to Paul Miller for believing in me,” Scherr told FOX Lexington. “To be the first female is an even more amazing feeling and knowing all the history that they have with UK athletics and being a UK athlete, it’s over the moon. Hopefully, this is the start of something for female athletes and it just shows their dedication to supporting women in sports as well and I’m glad I can be maybe a poster child for that.”

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The former Kentucky Miss Basketball in high school, Scherr spent two seasons at Oregon before transferring home to the Wildcats. Her diverse NIL portfolio includes a mix of community-focused organizations and brands such as St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Six Star Pro Nutrition, HOIST, and Shady Rays, among others.

“NIL has opened up opportunities I never would have imagined when I was in high school,” Scherr added. “So I would just tell them to keep working. Things can get confusing with the score and, you know, the off-the-court stuff. But I think as long as, you know, you stay focused with your sport, that these off-the-court things will have these great opportunities as well.”

Kentucky next visits rival No. 18 Louisville on Saturday.