On Monday, Nike Basketball announced that they had signed five student athletes to NIL deals and one of those five was Stanford women’s basketball senior forward Haley Jones. Three of the five players were women’s basketball players, a sign of how the women’s game is growing globally.
In addition to Jones, 2023 5-star point guard JuJu Watkins, a key Stanford women’s basketball recruit, was also among the players who Nike announced they had signed. Watkins plays for Sierra Canyon High School in Los Angeles, California.
Looking ahead to her senior year, Jones looks to once again be a major piece for Stanford as they eye another Final Four run. She’s really improved her game over the years and evolved into one of the most well-rounded and versatile players in the country. She’s capable of playing both in the post, out on the wing, and also at point guard if needed.
Touching more on the NIL deal, there have been questions about Stanford’s ability to thrive in this new NIL era as academics is such a premium focus of the university. Jones is showing that NIL and Stanford can co-exist and that one can use the platform that Stanford offers to not only boost yourself academically but boost your all-around athletic brand as well. She’s definitely an athlete that Stanford should be using as a model for how to find the right balance between taking advantage of NIL while still being focused on all the amazing academic benefits that come from being at Stanford.
It'll be fun to see what Jones does on the court this season and how her NIL deal with Nike helps her boost her brand even further.
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