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LSU Basketball Commit Signs Historic NIL Deal with Jordan Brand

Class of 2025's Bella Hines becomes only current high school player signed to Jumpman

Michael Ehrlich

Feb 21, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the LSU Tigers logo on the the player chairs against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half of the game at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Feb 21, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the LSU Tigers logo on the the player chairs against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half of the game at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
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Following in the footsteps - literally and figuratively - of former and current LSU women's basketball stars Angel Reese, Flau'jae Johnson and Hailey Van Lith, class of 2025 Tigers' commit Bella Hines now has a historic NIL sneaker deal of her own.

The 5-star prospect and 5'9" scoring guard from ABC Prep in Albuquerque, NM had quite the Wednesday, officially signing with LSU and announcing a multi-year partnership with Nike's Jordan Brand. Her new collaboration - negotiated by her agent Daveed Cohen of Young Money APAA - makes her the only current high school player with a Jumpman deal.

“Where I’m from, not a lot of people have this opportunity, so I feel like I bring hunger and grind. I feel like I bring a different type of spice to Jordan," she shared with Footwear News.

“We’re excited to have Bella Hines join the Jordan Brand Family. She’s a remarkable young talent who is joining an athlete roster that represents greatness for the next generation,” a Jordan Brand spokesperson told Forbes.

Although Hines' future team LSU is sponsored by Nike, multiple players on the roster have had their own sneaker deals through NIL. During their time in Baton Rouge, Reese was sponsored by Reebok and Van Lith by adidas, although neither could wear those shoes during LSU activities. Similarly, Johnson currently has a deal with PUMA.

Hines (No. 24-ranked prospect) is part of Coach Kim Mulkey's top-ranked recruiting class that features Zakiyah Johnson (No. 4), Divine Bourrage (No. 7) and Grace Knox (No. 13)

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Michael Ehrlich
MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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