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State Farm Adds USC Superstar Watkins to Exclusive NIL Roster

Women of Troy sophomore sensation JuJu Watkins becomes second college athlete to partner with insurance brand

Michael Ehrlich

Mar 25, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) gets ready to shoot free-throw during an NCAA Women’s Tournament 2nd round game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
Mar 25, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) gets ready to shoot free-throw during an NCAA Women’s Tournament 2nd round game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
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USC women's basketball superstar JuJu Watkins premiered her NBC documentary series over the weekend and now has announced a NIL partnership with the presenting sponsor. Insurance leader State Farm has made Watkins their second college athlete partner, after signing former Iowa legend Caitlin Clark prior to her historic senior season as year ago.

'On the Rise: JuJu Watkins' presented by State Farm follows the Women of Troy All-American starting in high school to showcase her life on and off the court, including USC recruitment and NIL success. A collaboration with LeBron Jamies' UNINTERRUPTED and 4.4. Forty Media, the series debuted on NBC prior to USC's matchup versus Notre Dame over the weekend and will be released exclusively on Peacock the rest of the season,

Now Watkins adds State Farm to her diverse list of NIL brand partners, featuring the likes of Nike, Gatorade and Beats by Dre, among many others.

"“It’s an honor to partner with State Farm," Watkins said in a statement to CNBC. "Not only are they one of the biggest brands in sports, they’ve also been investing in basketball and in the women’s game for decades."

Watkins joins now WNBA Rookie of the Year superstar Clark, Kansas City Chiefs duo Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce plus 12-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul on the State Farm athlete roster.

As part of their NIL collaboration, State Farm will launch a new commercial with Watkins and brand spokesman "Jake from State Farm."

“We want to make sure we represent the diversity of customers that we serve,” said Kristyn Cook, State Farm’s chief agency, sales and marketing officer. "We’re very proud of having a decade-long investment in women’s sports in particular. And so we’ve seen the business value firsthand.”

Top-10 in scoring nationally this year, Watkins was the second-leading scorer last season - behind Clark - setting the all-time scoring mark for a freshman, earning USC’s sixth first-team All-American honors, while leading the Women of Troy to the Elite Eight.

Watkins and No. 6-ranked USC will look to rebound - after a loss to Notre Dame over the weekend - when they host Seton Hall on November 27.

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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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