When it comes to the NIL space in women’s college basketball, nobody does it better than the Cavinder twins. Boardroom breaks down their earnings thus far.
Well before they helped lead the Miami Hurricanes to the Sweet 16 with an upset win over top-seeded Indiana, twin sisters Hanna and Haley Cavinder were already an NIL success story. Both stars at Fresno State prior to transferring down to Coral Gables, the Cavinder twins have built an impressive social media empire — and they do it biggest on TikTok, where they boast 4.4 million followers.
They’ve become so popular that during Miami’s NCAA Tournament win over the Hoosiers, fans were heckling at Haley, “stick to TikTok.”
And with what they’re raking in — it’s estimated the duo made $2 million in 2022 alone — perhaps one would blame them if they did. But it just so happens that Haley leads the Canes in scoring this season, while she and Hanna are No. 1 and No. 2 on the team respectively in free throw percentage. In the Big Dance, Haley led all scorers in the Round of 64 against Oklahoma State, with Hanna setting the pace for steals against Indiana.
The twins started their run of NIL dominance back on the left coast as Bulldogs, taking advantage of the legalization of name, image, and likeness monetization for amateur athletes from Day 1 back in July 2021 by locking up a deal with Boost Mobile that was reportedly worth five figures for both Hanna and Haley. From there, the two haven’t looked back, signing numerous endorsements and partnerships that have established them as prolific leaders in the space.
So, just how much NIL money are Hanna and Haley Cavinder making?
Boardroom breaks it down.
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Cavinder Twins NIL Market Value
All data via On3.com’s NIL rankings.
Haley Cavinder
Women’s College Basketball NIL rank: 1
Overall NIL 100 rank: 32
10-week high: $851,000
10-week low: $813,000
Total followers: 4.9 million
Hanna Cavinder
Women’s College Basketball NIL rank: 2
Overall NIL 100 rank: 33
10-week high: $851,000
10-week low: $818,000
Total followers: 4.9 million
The above monetary figures are via On3’s NIL Valuation, a proprietary algorithm that “establishes the overall NIL market and projected 12-month growth rate by measuring two categories, Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index.”
Before getting into the specific NIL deals below, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the impending infraction against the Miami women’s basketball team, specifically involving the Cavinder twins. The program was issued sanctions earlier this season when it became known that a Miami booster — John Ruiz — hosted Haley, Hanna, and their family for a dinner prior to them committing to the school, which is against NCAA rules.
(A separate conversation would be how much college sports’ generally archaic rules about what is and isn’t allowed needs to change.)
NIL deals were purportedly not discussed, but the promotion of the school in this context violated several NCAA recruiting rules, including “impermissible contact” and recruiting “inducement.” Further, Miami head coach Katie Meier was reportedly the one who facilitated the meeting between the Cavinder twins and Ruiz, which led to her three-game suspension at the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign.
All told, it felt like a slap on the wrist, but the episode was notable as the first such NIL-based ruling to be handed down by the NCAA. The fact that it came at the expense of Haley and Hanna is somewhat laughable given some of the athlete endorsement shenanigans we’ve seen across the multibillion-dollar world of college football, but that’s a topic for another day.
Now, on to the deals!
The Cavinder Twins’ Notable NIL Deals
Boost Mobile
The Cavinder twins started off the NIL era with a bang by agreeing to a deal with Boost Mobile that included a massive billboard in Times Square. It was quite literally a first-of-its-kind partnership that led to Boost Mobile later partnering with hundreds of other NCAA athletes.
Hanna and Haley are authentically pioneers in the NIL space.
Champs Sports
Haley and Hanna signed this deal with Champs Sports when they were still playing for Fresno State, but it’s extended into their time at Miami. The two have been involved in multiple campaigns with the sports retail company, including the “We Know Game” and back-to-school campaigns.
Raising Cane’s
Cavinders x Cane’s. It just makes sense.
After the chicken chain opened a location in Miami Beach, Raising Cane’s enlisted the twins to be their newest NIL partners. While the terms of the deal have not been made public — though free chicken HAS to be a perk, right? — Cane’s certainly is already reaping the benefits, with the Cavinders documenting their experience on their TikTok for all their four million-plus followers to see.
“It comes down to leveraging a domestic influence with a national brand via a hyper-local event,” the Cavinders’ agent, Jeff Hoffman, told On3. “The twins provide a varied audience with a triad of influence in sport, fashion, and health and wellness. This audience is seeking new places to eat, play and be well. The partnership allows Cane’s to lean into that audience in an authentic slice of life content where we get to see the new Raising Cane’s in the Hurricanes and twins’ backyard.”
Intuit TurboTax
It’s everyone’s favorite season, and Haley and Hanna are set with their NIL deal with Intuit TurboTax.
It’s a smart move for the Cavinders, who are not only likely getting paid for this, but also will receive help from the company’s financial advisors during what will surely be a taxing season after all the deals they’ve signed in the past year.
“The twins’ taxes could seem somewhat complicated, given their business success and variety of income they need to report,” Jeff Hoffman, who serves as the twins’ agent and a partner at Everett Sports Management, told On3. “For ESM, our evaluation was simple. Does our story align to the brand campaign, and does it align to the twins’ real-life story? The confluence of these requisites made it an easy decision to partner.”
Other notable Cavinder twins NIL deals: Under Armour, Crocs, Core Hydration, WWE, PSD Underwear, Six Star Pro Nutrition, Caktus AI
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