Highest Paid Women's Coach, NIL, Madness, Aaron Rodgers & More! (2024)

Friends,

Happy National “Pretend You’re Working Today” as March Madness kicks off. It’s estimated hourly corporate losses are $1.9B during the madness, which is madness in itself. Today we cover the highest paid women’s coaches in the game and some wild sports biz news so far this week. Sending thoughts and prayers to your bracket already.

1/ Ted Lasso: The Biz around Ted Lasso is Booming

Nike is now selling AFC Richmond gear on their website, including $35 t-shirts, $50 scarves, and $105 jerseys. It’s also reported that Jason Sudeikis is earning $1 million per episode this season after making $250,000 to $300,000 for seasons 1 and 2.

2/ Pat McAfee live stream with Aaron Rodgers goes off

3/ Hard Knocks - Speaking of Aaron Rodgers. If we had to put money on where Hard Knocks lands, we’d say it probably rhymes with smets.

1/ WBB March Madness sells out ads - ESPN has 15 broadcast sponsors and close to 100 advertisers, from Aflac and Under Armour to the U.S. Army.

2/ UCLA’s WBB Head Coach, Cori Close wants all her athletes to make $50k

3/ Top 10 NIL Valuations for WBB Athlete - Top earnings could reach $1M!

4/ The Prime Effect - Colorado beats out everyone for ESPN time slot

Dawn Staley goes from assistant coach at Temple to highest paid coach in the country. Today’s featured story shares the journey of an athlete turned coach and getting some much deserved recognition.

Dawn Staley is a former professional basketball player who is currently the head coach of the University of South Carolina's women's basketball team. Staley is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, a six-time WNBA All-Star, and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She was also named one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time in 2011.

Staley's coaching career began in 2000, when she was an assistant coach for Temple University. In 2008, she became the head coach at the University of South Carolina, where she has led the Gameco*cks to numerous successful seasons. Staley has gone on to lead South Carolina to six SEC regular season championships, six SEC tournament championships, eight Sweet Sixteens, four Final Fours, and two NCAA Women's Basketball National Championships.

Staley became the first person to win the Naismith Award as both a player and a coach. She also won the other three major National Coach of the Year awards after she led her team to a 32 win season and a final ranking of #1 in both major polls.

In addition to her success on the court, Staley has been a strong advocate for social justice and gender equality. She has used her platform to speak out against racism and inequality, and has been actively involved in community service and mentoring young women.

As for her salary, according to reports, Staley's annual salary (base + compensation) is $3.1 million, making her the highest-paid coach in women's college basketball.

Throughout her career, Staley has achieved several key milestones, including being inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and being named the Naismith College Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015. Staley became the first person to win the Naismith Award as both a player and a coach. She also won the other three major National Coach of the Year awards after she led her team to a 32 win season and a final ranking of #1 in both major polls.

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-Sports Biz Team