BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU women’s basketball celebrity Angel Reese is starting to give LSU gymnastics celebrity Olivia Dunne a run for her money, and overexposure.
Reese was just announced as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model for the May 12 issue of the magazine. And now, she and her teammates will visit President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at the White House on May 26 to celebrate the Tigers’ national championship.
That’s quite a two-week stretch for Reese. The junior forward from the Baltimore area helped lead LSU and second-year coach Kim Mulkey to the school’s first national championship in basketball this season.
Angel Reese Vs. Olivia Dunne In NIL, Attention Battle
Dunne makes more Name, Image & Likeness money than Reese and anyone else, reportedly, and will also be in the upcoming SI swimsuit issue. According to her 2022 earnings, Dunne made $2.3 million in NIL money, and that is expected to continue to increase significantly throughout 2023. Reese’s NIL earnings are estimated at $1.3 million for 2023 after a cap of just $370,000 before the NCAA Tournament.
Dunne has been a celebrity athlete of sorts even before NIL began in the summer of 2021.
The White House will honor the UConn men’s basketball team for its national championship that same day.
Georgia Has Back-To-Back Titles, No White House Date
Meanwhile, the Georgia football team has yet to be given a date to celebrate either of its back-to-back national titles in the 2021 and ’22 seasons. The White House has told Georgia’s athletic department it will be invited. But no date has been set yet, a Georgia spokesman said Monday.
A date has also not been set yet by the White House to honor the Houston Astros for their 2022 World Series title.
Angel Reese Originally Said She Would Not Visit White House
Reese at first said she would not be attending any White House ceremony honoring LSU’s team. This was after Jill Biden suggested that LSU and Iowa should both be invited because it was such a good title game, though LSU won by 17. The White House walked back Mrs. Biden’s comments shortly after she made them. Losing teams have never been honored at the many White House national championship ceremonies.
“You can’t go back on certain things you say,” Reese said on the “I Am Athlete” podcast on April 5. “We’ll get to the Obamas (former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle). We’ll go see Michelle. We’ll go see Barack.”
Shortly after that, an LSU athletic department statement said the women’s team “would certainly accept an invitation.”
Angel Reese Did A Crossover Dribble Comment
Then Reese herself went back on her statement about not going to the White House.
“Just going back on it, you don’t get that experience (a White House visit) ever,” Reese said on April 7 to ESPN. “I know my team probably wants to go for sure, and my coaches are supportive of that. So I’m going to do what’s best for the team. And if they would like to go, we decide we’re going to go, then we’re going to go.”
Reese created mega attention for women’s basketball and much more NIL money for herself after starting a controversy with Iowa star guard Caitlin Clark as the final seconds ticked away in LSU’s title victory.
NIL Rush To Angel Reese
Instead of rushing to her teammates as the game ended and after for a celebration as national championship teams usually do, Reese instead went up to Clark. She taunted her by pointing to her finger where a national championship ring will go.
Clark taunted opponents throughout the NCAA Tournament as well, but not after games were over. Reese continued her taunt for several seconds after the final horn.
Since the national championship victory, Reese has significantly upped her NIL money from approximately $370,000 a year to $1.3 million through deals with Raising Cane’s, CampusInk, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Leaf Trading Cards, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated.
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