Fresno State’s Cavinder twins became the first Bulldogs to cash in on their name, image and likeness rights as the NCAA’s rules changed Thursday to allow student-athletes to seek out monetary compensation for the first time in history.
In fact, Haley and Hanna Cavinder became the face of the “name, image and likeness” movement on Thursday, becoming the first collegiate athletes in the nation with a large social media following to publicly ink sponsorship deals.
The Cavinders announced that they have signed deals with Boost Mobile and Six Star Pro Nutrition.
“Today is a big step in empowering student-athletes like us to take charge of our future and achieve fair recognition for the hard work we put in – both on and off the court,” Haley Cavinder said in a statement released by Boost Mobile.
“We are excited to partner with Boost and for their support of this big milestone, not just us, but for student-athletes across the country – and for years to come.”
Hanna Cavinder added, “Our number one goal is to excel on the court, but off the court, we love to show our creative sides and grow our relationships with the TikTok community. Boost keeps us connected so that we can upload and share videos that have a little fun, and hopefully inspire the next generation of women to pursue their basketball dreams.”
While the terms of their endorsement deals were not made public, the twins are likely in line for six-figure paydays on an annual basis.
Fresno State partnered with sports technology company Opendorse to help its student-athletes develop their brand and marketing potential.
In an interview with The Sun last August, Opendorse CEO Blake Lawrence estimated that the Cavinders could earn a combined $167,000 annually, based on their online media presence.
That total has likely ballooned in the 11 months since as their social media following has grown.
Last August, the Cavinders had 655,600 followers on their combined TikTok account (worth an estimated $7,884 per post), 25,500 subscribers on their combined YouTube account (worth $1,090 monthly), over 100,000 each on their Instagram pages ($3,500 per post) and 2,300 followers each on Twitter ($21 per post).
Now, the sisters have 3.3 million followers on TikTok, 67,000 subscribers on YouTube, over 250,000 followers each on Instagram and about 5,000 followers apiece on Twitter.
If Opendorse’s projections are extrapolated to account for the Cavinder’s social media growth, the twins could conceivably be in line for a combined annual payday worth close to $700,000.
The duo have transformed themselves from star women’s basketball athletes in a mid-major conference to household names in the media industry seemingly overnight.
Sports Illustrated reported that the twins had other interviews scheduled Thursday with ESPN, CBS News, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC and Time Magazine.
They even landed an appearance on a Times Square billboard.
ON A BILLBOARD IN TIME SQUARE 😭 WHAT IS LIFE… blessed❤️ pic.twitter.com/ZyA4Uim5zB— Hanna Cavinder (@CavinderHanna) July 1, 2021
