This is what I like about NIL. This presents an opportunity for all to use their hard work to achieve with it, especially from the small school route and women's side, and it's not just the top people. Of course, one of our own gets a nod:
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9. Adrien Nunez & Carson Roney
Guard, Michigan and Forward, Shawnee State (NAIA)
4.7 million followers combined on TikTok; 464,000 combined on Instagram
First came downloading TikTok to pass the time during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Then came meeting each other, and building a brand together. Today, the Wolverines reserve and Shawnee State standout are true social media titans. But Roney is the most popular athlete of this viral power couple (She has 500,000 more TikTok followers than Nunez). She may play at a non-Division I school, and he may have scored just six points in 10 games last season, but their comedic skits and dance posts -- they do solo content, too -- regularly command more than a million views.
The couple also have an active YouTube channel, "Carson and Adrien," that has 114,000 subscribers and frequently features other YouTube influencers while also hitting those big numbers brands want: A video of the two buying items for Nunez's new apartment in Ann Arbor, for example, has more than 175,000 views. Nunez even sells his own merch. Clearly, they know what they're doing.
Which men's and women's college basketball players can cash in on the new NIL rules?
Whether it's social media following, talent or a combination of both, these college basketball players stand to make big bucks in the NIL era.
