Nike Signs UCLA’s Reilyn Turner as Its First-Ever College Athlete

(Bloomberg) -- Nike Inc. has signed its first-ever endorsement deal with a college player after a recent NCAA rule change allowed brands to work with student-athletes.

Reilyn Turner, a sophomore on the women’s soccer team at the University of California at Los Angeles, joins Nike’s wide roster of sponsored athletes. She was the Pac-12 conference’s top freshman last season. Terms of the arrangement weren’t disclosed.

“I hope to be a role model for those around me and those after me, and I’m so excited to be a part of what Nike is bringing to the future of women’s sport,” Turner said in a statement Tuesday.

The college deals are accumulating as brands rush to court younger stars than ever after the NCAA this summer permitted players to profit from their names, images and likenesses. 

Gatorade, the sports drink owned by PepsiCo Inc., made the biggest splash so far when it signed University of Connecticut women’s basketball phenom Paige Bueckers to a multiyear deal in November.

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