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What is the South Carolina Gamecocks NIL strategy for women's basketball in 2027?

📖 2,294 words🗓️ Published Jun 19, 2026 · Updated Jun 3, 2026

Direct Answer

South Carolina's 2026-27 NIL strategy for women's basketball is a three-engine model: Garnet Trust collective (the merged Garnet Trust + Carolina Rise entity, run by Bakari Sellers) layers brand-deal income on top of the House v. NCAA revenue-share pool (roughly $1.6M of the $20.5M cap earmarked to WBB, with NDAs required to receive any of it), while head coach Dawn Staley personally brokers team-wide endorsements like the Rewind diabetes deal. The result for 2026-27: every scholarship Gamecock clears a $25K Garnet Trust floor, stars like Chloe Kitts ($159K On3 valuation) and Joyce Edwards sit on six-figure individual deals, and Staley is using the same machine to chase 2027 generational PG Kaleena Smith against LSU and UConn.

1. The Garnet Trust + Carolina Rise Merger Anchors The Floor

1a. One collective, one checkbook for 2026-27

In late 2024 the two competing Gamecock collectives — Garnet Trust (founded November 2021 by Bakari Sellers, CNN analyst and former state legislator) and Carolina Rise — merged under the Garnet Trust banner as the official NIL partner of South Carolina Athletics. The merger killed donor confusion and pooled fundraising for both football and Olympic sports, with WBB carved out as a protected line item because of Staley's national title hardware (2017, 2022, 2024).

1b. The $25K-per-player floor

Garnet Trust's signature WBB program — first announced for 2022-23 and renewed every year since — guarantees every scholarship player a minimum of $25,000 in NIL deliverables (community appearances, social posts, sponsored interviews). With 15 scholarships, that's a ~$325K minimum annual outlay before any star pricing. NOCAP Sports still handles contracts and payments per the original framework; Garnet Trust services roughly 200 South Carolina athletes across all sports.

1c. Why Sellers matters

Sellers personally underwrites donor recruitment and treats WBB as a brand pillar, not an afterthought. That inverts the SEC default (football gets 75%, WBB scrapes leftovers). It is the single biggest structural reason Staley can promise a recruit a payday that competes with LSU's Flau'jae Johnson tier without being LSU.

2. Revenue Sharing Under House — The NDA Wrinkle

2a. The pool math

The House v. NCAA settlement approved in June 2025 lets each Power 4 school directly pay athletes up to $20.5M in 2025-26 (rising ~4% annually, hitting roughly $21.3M in 2026-27). The settlement's back-pay formula — 75% football / 15% MBB / 5% WBB / 5% other — is what most schools use as a forward-pay template. That puts a typical WBB allocation near $1.0-1.6M per school. South Carolina is at the high end because WBB sells out all 13,046 seats at Colonial Life Arena and has led the nation in WBB attendance 10 straight seasons.

2b. Staley's NDA mandate

In August 2025, Staley confirmed every player must sign a non-disclosure agreement to receive any revenue-share dollar. Reported reasoning: keep the locker room from comparing checks publicly during a season. Practical effect for 2026-27: player-by-player rev-share figures are not public, only the team-level pool, which is why On3 valuations (brand deals + estimated rev-share) remain the only public yardstick.

2c. Title IX exposure

Multiple law firms (Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Phelps Dunbar, Miller Canfield) have flagged that the 75/15/5/5 default invites Title IX challenges. South Carolina's defense: the Garnet Trust top-up, brokered deals, and disproportionate WBB-share-of-pool argument. Compliance counsel is now part of every recruit pitch.

3. The Individual Brand Deals — Real Names, Real Numbers

3a. Chloe Kitts — $159K On3 valuation

Senior forward, 2025 SEC Tournament MVP, helped clinch the 2024 national title as a sophomore. Reported brand portfolio: Powerade, Sephora, Marathon, Mondelez. She is the marquee returning face for the 2026-27 jersey.

3b. Joyce Edwards — top freshman class carryover

The No. 1 player in the 2024 class by ESPN HoopGurlz, Edwards arrived with national TV deals already in motion. She remains the highest-ceiling individual brand on the 2026-27 roster, with valuation trending toward Kitts' band.

3c. The MiLaysia Fulwiley lesson

Fulwiley transferred to LSU in April 2025 carrying a $195K On3 valuation anchored by being the first college athlete signed directly to Curry Brand, plus Red Bull and Intuit TurboTax. Her exit is the cautionary tale that Garnet Trust now uses to justify aggressive retention spends — losing a marquee player costs more in brand erosion than the retention check would have cost.

3d. Staley-brokered team deals

Staley herself negotiated the Rewind Type 2 Diabetes team NIL deal (first-of-its-kind for a college WBB program), opened doors at Aflac (HQ in Columbus, GA, big Carolinas footprint), and uses her Nike personal contract to seed gear partnerships for the roster.

4. The 2027 Recruiting Application — Kaleena Smith vs. Jezelle Banks

4a. The PG bet

South Carolina's biggest 2027 board hole is point guard. The two finalists are Kaleena Smith (consensus top-five, called a "generational talent" by recruiting analysts) and Jezelle Banks (also top-five, longer-standing Gamecock relationship). On3 reporting frames it bluntly: Smith will command a massive NIL package; Banks is better dollar value.

4b. What Staley can credibly offer

With Garnet Trust's $25K floor plus access to the WBB rev-share pool plus a track record of brokered team deals, Staley can pitch a 2027 PG a first-year package in the $300K-$500K band without breaking the WBB rev-share allocation. That puts her in direct head-to-head reach of LSU (Kim Mulkey + Bayou Traditions) and UConn (Geno Auriemma + Bluepoint Collective).

4c. Other live 2027 targets

Ivanna Wilson-Manyacka — 6-1 wing, physical defender, classic Staley archetype.
Jordyn Palmer — 6-1 wing, lower public ranking, high upside.
Taylor Brown — 2027 PG, offered as Smith/Banks fallback.
Jerzy Robinson — preseason high school All-American.

Staley has signed the No. 1 class twice and the No. 2 class three times; the structural NIL stack is how she keeps that streak alive through 2027 even with rev-share parity pressure from football-first SEC peers.

5. The $1M Tournament Layer

In 2026, the program also added the Women's Championship Series, a new in-season tournament guaranteeing each participating program over $1M in NIL cash distributed to the roster. Staley confirmed the Gamecocks are in the field for 2026-27. That single revenue line, layered on top of Garnet Trust + rev-share + brand deals, pushes the per-scholarship-player average comp for a Gamecock starter into the $150K-$300K band before brand deals — and $300K-$500K+ for the top three or four players.

6. Operating Cadence — How Money Actually Flows

6a. Monthly

Garnet Trust posts brand activations on the first business day of each month. NOCAP Sports pushes payouts on the 15th and 30th. Rev-share is paid out per the university's bi-monthly payroll cycle.

6b. Quarterly

Compliance review with South Carolina general counsel plus Garnet Trust outside counsel to confirm Title IX positioning, deal mix, and pool spend versus cap. Reporting to the NIL Go clearinghouse for any deal over $600 per the House settlement requirements.

6c. Annually

Roster-wide NIL re-valuation in May after the portal closes, recruit allocation locked by July 1, season activations finalized in August before media day.

2. Dawn Staley’s Personal Brand Brokerage Model

Staley doesn’t just coach—she acts as a de facto agent for her players, leveraging her own national profile and personal relationships to secure team-wide NIL deals that competitors can’t replicate. In 2026-27, this means she personally negotiates partnerships that bundle the entire roster, not just stars. For example, her involvement in the Rewind diabetes campaign—a deal that covered every scholarship player—came from Staley’s own boardroom connections, not a collective pitch. This model creates a “Staley premium”: brands pay more for access to her endorsement power, and the money flows directly to athletes without collective overhead. The strategy also extends to recruiting: when Staley courts a prospect like Kaleena Smith, she can promise not just a collective floor but her personal network of brand relationships, which includes major consumer goods and health companies. This hands-on approach differentiates South Carolina from programs where collectives handle all deal-making, because Staley’s name carries weight that no third-party entity can match.

3. Revenue-Share Pool Allocation: The $1.6M WBB Bucket

Under the House v. NCAA settlement’s revenue-sharing model, South Carolina will distribute a portion of its $20.5M annual cap across sports. For 2026-27, the Gamecocks have earmarked roughly $1.6M specifically for women’s basketball—a figure that reflects the program’s championship pedigree and Staley’s leverage in athletic department budget meetings. This pool is distinct from collective money: it comes directly from university-generated revenue (ticket sales, media rights, sponsorships) and must be distributed evenly among eligible players, with NDAs required to receive funds. The key strategic move is that South Carolina uses this pool to supplement the Garnet Trust floor, meaning a player like Joyce Edwards might get $25K from the collective plus another $40K from revenue share, stacking income without cannibalizing donor-driven NIL. This dual-stream approach ensures that even players without individual brand deals clear a comfortable six-figure total, and it gives Staley a recruiting edge: she can offer a guaranteed base that combines collective and revenue-share money, while rivals who rely solely on collectives face more uncertainty in annual fundraising cycles.

FAQ

How much NIL money does a typical South Carolina women’s basketball player get in 2027? Every scholarship player receives at least a $25,000 floor from the Garnet Trust collective. Stars can earn six-figure individual deals, with top players like Chloe Kitts valued around $159K and Joyce Edwards also in that range.

Does the House v. NCAA revenue-sharing cap affect the women’s basketball NIL budget? Yes. South Carolina allocates roughly $1.6 million of the $20.5 million total cap to women’s basketball. Players must sign NDAs to receive any portion of that revenue-share pool.

How does Dawn Staley personally help players get NIL deals? Staley brokers team-wide endorsements, such as the Rewind diabetes deal, and uses her national profile to connect players with brands. She actively recruits top prospects by showcasing this NIL support system.

What is the Garnet Trust collective, and how does it work? The Garnet Trust is the merged entity (formerly Garnet Trust + Carolina Rise) run by Bakari Sellers. It layers brand-deal income on top of the revenue-share pool, ensuring every scholarship player hits the $25K minimum.

Are NIL deals guaranteed for all players on the team? The $25K floor from the Garnet Trust is effectively guaranteed for scholarship athletes. Individual deals beyond that vary based on player performance, marketability, and roster status.

How is South Carolina using NIL to recruit top prospects like Kaleena Smith? Staley and the collective pitch a proven three-engine model: the Garnet Trust floor, the revenue-share pool, and Staley’s personal deal-making. This system is used to compete with LSU and UConn for elite recruits like 2027 point guard Kaleena Smith.

Bottom Line

South Carolina's 2026-27 WBB NIL strategy is the most institutionally engineered in women's college basketball: a merged collective with a guaranteed per-player floor, an outsize share of the House rev-share pool justified by 10 straight years of national attendance leadership and 13,046 sellouts, NDA-enforced privacy, head-coach-brokered team deals, and a $1M+ tournament layer — all designed to keep stars like Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards, prevent the next Fulwiley exit, and land the Kaleena Smith tier 2027 class. The model is replicable; the attendance and the Staley track record are not.

flowchart TD A[South Carolina WBB Player 2026-27] --> B[Garnet Trust $25K Floor] A --> C[House Rev Share via NDA] A --> D[Individual Brand Deals] A --> E[Staley-Brokered Team Deals] B --> F[NOCAP Sports Contract Admin] C --> G[~$1.0-1.6M WBB Pool] D --> H[On3 Valuation Public] E --> I[Rewind / Aflac / Nike] F --> J[Player Payout] G --> J H --> J I --> J

flowchart LR M[Monthly Activations] --> Q[Quarterly Compliance Review] Q --> A[Annual Re-Valuation May] A --> R[Recruit Lock July 1] R --> S[Season Launch August Media Day] S --> M

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Sources

Download:

![What is the South Carolina Gamecocks NIL strategy for women's basketball in 2027](https://image.pollinations.ai/prompt/high%20quality%20editorial%20professional%20editorial%20business%20photography%20photograph%20illustrating%20What%20is%20the%20South%20Carolina%20Gamecocks%20NIL%20strategy%20for%20women's%20basketball%20in%202027%3F%2C%20realistic%20magazine%20style%2C%20warm%20light%2C%20no%20text%2C%20no%20watermark%2C%20no%20words?width=1200&height=675&nologo=true&model=flux&seed=31805)

### Direct Answer

**South Carolina's 2026-27 NIL strategy for women's basketball is a three-engine model**: **Garnet Trust collective** (the merged Garnet Trust + Carolina Rise entity, run by **Bakari Sellers**) layers brand-deal income on top of the **House v. NCAA revenue-share pool** (roughly **$1.6M of the $20.5M cap** earmarked to WBB, with **NDAs required** to receive any of it), while **head coach Dawn Staley personally brokers** team-wide endorsements like the Rewind diabetes deal. The result for **2026-27**: every scholarship Gamecock clears a **$25K Garnet Trust floor**, stars like **Chloe Kitts ($159K On3 valuation)** and **Joyce Edwards** sit on six-figure individual deals, and Staley is using the same machine to chase **2027 generational PG Kaleena Smith** against LSU and UConn.

## 1. The Garnet Trust + Carolina Rise Merger Anchors The Floor

![What is the South Carolina Gamecocks NIL strategy for women's bask — 1. The Garnet Trust + Carolina Rise Merger Anchors The F](https://image.pollinations.ai/prompt/high%20quality%20editorial%20business%20professional%20office%20photograph%20illustrating%201.%20The%20Garnet%20Trust%20%2B%20Carolina%20Rise%20Merger%20Anchors%20The%20F%20What%20is%20the%20South%20Carol%2C%20realistic%20magazine%20style%2C%20warm%20light%2C%20no%20text%2C%20no%20watermark?width=1200&height=675&nologo=true&model=flux&seed=90300)


### 1a. One collective, one checkbook for 2026-27

![What is the South Carolina Gamecocks NIL strategy for women's bask — 1a. One collective, one checkbook for 2026-27](https://image.pollinations.ai/prompt/high%20quality%20editorial%20business%20professional%20office%20photograph%20illustrating%201a.%20One%20collective%2C%20one%20checkbook%20for%202026-27%20What%20is%20the%20South%20Carolina%20Gamecoc%2C%20realistic%20magazine%20style%2C%20warm%20light%2C%20no%20text%2C%20no%20watermark?width=1200&height=675&nologo=true&model=flux&seed=12237)


In late 2024 the two competing Gamecock collectives — **Garnet Trust** (founded November 2021 by **Bakari Sellers**, CNN analyst and former state legislator) and **Carolina Rise** — **merged under the Garnet Trust banner** as the official NIL partner of South Carolina Athletics. The merger killed donor confusion and pooled fundraising for both football and Olympic sports, with WBB carved out as a **protected line item** because of Staley's national title hardware (**2017, 2022, 2024**).

### 1b. The $25K-per-player floor

![What is the South Carolina Gamecocks NIL strategy for women's bask — 1b. The $25K-per-player floor](https://image.pollinations.ai/prompt/high%20quality%20editorial%20business%20professional%20office%20photograph%20illustrating%201b.%20The%20%2425K-per-player%20floor%20What%20is%20the%20South%20Carolina%20Gamecocks%20NIL%20strategy%20%2C%20realistic%20magazine%20style%2C%20warm%20light%2C%20no%20text%2C%20no%20watermark?width=1200&height=675&nologo=true&model=flux&seed=42863)


Garnet Trust's signature WBB program — first announced for **2022-23** and renewed every year since — guarantees **every scholarship player a minimum of $25,000** in NIL deliverables (community appearances, social posts, sponsored interviews). With **15 scholarships**, that's a **~$325K minimum annual outlay** before any star pricing. **NOCAP Sports** still handles contracts and payments per the original framework; Garnet Trust services roughly **200 South Carolina athletes** across all sports.

### 1c. Why Sellers matters

Sellers personally underwrites donor recruitment and treats WBB as a brand pillar, not an afterthought. That **inverts the SEC default** (football gets 75%, WBB scrapes leftovers). It is the single biggest structural reason Staley can promise a recruit a payday that competes with **LSU's Flau'jae Johnson tier** without being LSU.

## 2. Revenue Sharing Under House — The NDA Wrinkle

### 2a. The pool math

The **House v. NCAA settlement** approved in **June 2025** lets each Power 4 school directly pay athletes up to **$20.5M in 2025-26** (rising ~4% annually, hitting roughly **$21.3M in 2026-27**). The settlement's back-pay formula — **75% football / 15% MBB / 5% WBB / 5% other** — is what most schools use as a forward-pay template. That puts a **typical WBB allocation near $1.0-1.6M** per school. South Carolina is at the **high end** because WBB sells out **all 13,046 seats at Colonial Life Arena** and has led the nation in WBB attendance **10 straight seasons**.

### 2b. Staley's NDA mandate

In **August 2025**, Staley confirmed every player **must sign a non-disclosure agreement** to receive any revenue-share dollar. Reported reasoning: keep the locker room from comparing checks publicly during a season. Practical effect for 2026-27: **player-by-player rev-share figures are not public**, only the team-level pool, which is why On3 valuations (brand deals + estimated rev-share) remain the only public yardstick.

### 2c. Title IX exposure

Multiple law firms (**Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney**, **Phelps Dunbar**, **Miller Canfield**) have flagged that the 75/15/5/5 default invites **Title IX challenges**. South Carolina's defense: the Garnet Trust top-up, brokered deals, and disproportionate WBB-share-of-pool argument. Compliance counsel is now part of every recruit pitch.

## 3. The Individual Brand Deals — Real Names, Real Numbers

### 3a. Chloe Kitts — $159K On3 valuation

Senior forward, **2025 SEC Tournament MVP**, helped clinch the **2024 national title** as a sophomore. Reported brand portfolio: **Powerade, Sephora, Marathon, Mondelez**. She is the marquee returning face for the 2026-27 jersey.

### 3b. Joyce Edwards — top freshman class carryover

The **No. 1 player in the 2024 class** by ESPN HoopGurlz, Edwards arrived with national TV deals already in motion. She remains the highest-ceiling individual brand on the 2026-27 roster, with valuation trending toward Kitts' band.

### 3c. The MiLaysia Fulwiley lesson

Fulwiley transferred to **LSU in April 2025** carrying a **$195K On3 valuation** anchored by being the **first college athlete signed directly to Curry Brand**, plus **Red Bull** and **Intuit TurboTax**. Her exit is the cautionary tale that Garnet Trust now uses to justify aggressive retention spends — losing a marquee player costs more in brand erosion than the retention check would have cost.

### 3d. Staley-brokered team deals

Staley herself negotiated the **Rewind Type 2 Diabetes** team NIL deal (first-of-its-kind for a college WBB program), opened doors at **Aflac** (HQ in Columbus, GA, big Carolinas footprint), and uses her **Nike personal contract** to seed gear partnerships for the roster.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    A[South Carolina WBB Player 2026-27] --> B[Garnet Trust $25K Floor]
    A --> C[House Rev Share via NDA]
    A --> D[Individual Brand Deals]
    A --> E[Staley-Brokered Team Deals]
    B --> F[NOCAP Sports Contract Admin]
    C --> G[~$1.0-1.6M WBB Pool]
    D --> H[On3 Valuation Public]
    E --> I[Rewind / Aflac / Nike]
    F --> J[Player Payout]
    G --> J
    H --> J
    I --> J
```

## 4. The 2027 Recruiting Application — Kaleena Smith vs. Jezelle Banks

### 4a. The PG bet

South Carolina's biggest 2027 board hole is point guard. The two finalists are **Kaleena Smith** (consensus top-five, called a "generational talent" by recruiting analysts) and **Jezelle Banks** (also top-five, longer-standing Gamecock relationship). On3 reporting frames it bluntly: **Smith will command a massive NIL package**; Banks is **better dollar value**.

### 4b. What Staley can credibly offer

With Garnet Trust's $25K floor plus access to the WBB rev-share pool plus a track record of brokered team deals, Staley can pitch a 2027 PG **a first-year package in the $300K-$500K band** without breaking the WBB rev-share allocation. That puts her in direct head-to-head reach of **LSU (Kim Mulkey + Bayou Traditions)** and **UConn (Geno Auriemma + Bluepoint Collective)**.

### 4c. Other live 2027 targets

- **Ivanna Wilson-Manyacka** — 6-1 wing, physical defender, classic Staley archetype.
- **Jordyn Palmer** — 6-1 wing, lower public ranking, high upside.
- **Taylor Brown** — 2027 PG, offered as Smith/Banks fallback.
- **Jerzy Robinson** — preseason high school All-American.

Staley has signed the **No. 1 class twice** and the **No. 2 class three times**; the structural NIL stack is how she keeps that streak alive through 2027 even with rev-share parity pressure from football-first SEC peers.

## 5. The $1M Tournament Layer

In 2026, the program also added the **Women's Championship Series**, a new in-season tournament guaranteeing each participating program **over $1M in NIL cash** distributed to the roster. Staley confirmed the Gamecocks are in the field for **2026-27**. That single revenue line, layered on top of Garnet Trust + rev-share + brand deals, pushes the **per-scholarship-player average comp** for a Gamecock starter into the **$150K-$300K band** before brand deals — and **$300K-$500K+** for the top three or four players.

## 6. Operating Cadence — How Money Actually Flows

### 6a. Monthly

Garnet Trust posts brand activations on the **first business day** of each month. **NOCAP Sports** pushes payouts on the **15th and 30th**. Rev-share is paid out per the **university's bi-monthly payroll cycle**.

### 6b. Quarterly

Compliance review with **South Carolina general counsel** plus **Garnet Trust outside counsel** to confirm Title IX positioning, deal mix, and pool spend versus cap. Reporting to the **NIL Go clearinghouse** for any deal **over $600** per the House settlement requirements.

### 6c. Annually

Roster-wide NIL re-valuation in May after the portal closes, recruit allocation locked by July 1, season activations finalized in August before media day.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    M[Monthly Activations] --> Q[Quarterly Compliance Review]
    Q --> A[Annual Re-Valuation May]
    A --> R[Recruit Lock July 1]
    R --> S[Season Launch August Media Day]
    S --> M
```

## 2. Dawn Staley’s Personal Brand Brokerage Model

Staley doesn’t just coach—she acts as a de facto agent for her players, leveraging her own national profile and personal relationships to secure team-wide NIL deals that competitors can’t replicate. In 2026-27, this means she personally negotiates partnerships that bundle the entire roster, not just stars. For example, her involvement in the Rewind diabetes campaign—a deal that covered every scholarship player—came from Staley’s own boardroom connections, not a collective pitch. This model creates a “Staley premium”: brands pay more for access to her endorsement power, and the money flows directly to athletes without collective overhead. The strategy also extends to recruiting: when Staley courts a prospect like Kaleena Smith, she can promise not just a collective floor but her personal network of brand relationships, which includes major consumer goods and health companies. This hands-on approach differentiates South Carolina from programs where collectives handle all deal-making, because Staley’s name carries weight that no third-party entity can match.

## 3. Revenue-Share Pool Allocation: The $1.6M WBB Bucket

Under the House v. NCAA settlement’s revenue-sharing model, South Carolina will distribute a portion of its $20.5M annual cap across sports. For 2026-27, the Gamecocks have earmarked roughly $1.6M specifically for women’s basketball—a figure that reflects the program’s championship pedigree and Staley’s leverage in athletic department budget meetings. This pool is distinct from collective money: it comes directly from university-generated revenue (ticket sales, media rights, sponsorships) and must be distributed evenly among eligible players, with NDAs required to receive funds. The key strategic move is that South Carolina uses this pool to supplement the Garnet Trust floor, meaning a player like Joyce Edwards might get $25K from the collective plus another $40K from revenue share, stacking income without cannibalizing donor-driven NIL. This dual-stream approach ensures that even players without individual brand deals clear a comfortable six-figure total, and it gives Staley a recruiting edge: she can offer a guaranteed base that combines collective and revenue-share money, while rivals who rely solely on collectives face more uncertainty in annual fundraising cycles.

## FAQ

**How much NIL money does a typical South Carolina women’s basketball player get in 2027?**  
Every scholarship player receives at least a $25,000 floor from the Garnet Trust collective. Stars can earn six-figure individual deals, with top players like Chloe Kitts valued around $159K and Joyce Edwards also in that range.

**Does the House v. NCAA revenue-sharing cap affect the women’s basketball NIL budget?**  
Yes. South Carolina allocates roughly $1.6 million of the $20.5 million total cap to women’s basketball. Players must sign NDAs to receive any portion of that revenue-share pool.

**How does Dawn Staley personally help players get NIL deals?**  
Staley brokers team-wide endorsements, such as the Rewind diabetes deal, and uses her national profile to connect players with brands. She actively recruits top prospects by showcasing this NIL support system.

**What is the Garnet Trust collective, and how does it work?**  
The Garnet Trust is the merged entity (formerly Garnet Trust + Carolina Rise) run by Bakari Sellers. It layers brand-deal income on top of the revenue-share pool, ensuring every scholarship player hits the $25K minimum.

**Are NIL deals guaranteed for all players on the team?**  
The $25K floor from the Garnet Trust is effectively guaranteed for scholarship athletes. Individual deals beyond that vary based on player performance, marketability, and roster status.

**How is South Carolina using NIL to recruit top prospects like Kaleena Smith?**  
Staley and the collective pitch a proven three-engine model: the Garnet Trust floor, the revenue-share pool, and Staley’s personal deal-making. This system is used to compete with LSU and UConn for elite recruits like 2027 point guard Kaleena Smith.

## Bottom Line

South Carolina's 2026-27 WBB NIL strategy is **the most institutionally engineered in women's college basketball**: a merged collective with a guaranteed per-player floor, an outsize share of the House rev-share pool justified by **10 straight years of national attendance leadership** and **13,046 sellouts**, NDA-enforced privacy, head-coach-brokered team deals, and a $1M+ tournament layer — all designed to keep stars like **Chloe Kitts** and **Joyce Edwards**, prevent the next **Fulwiley** exit, and land the **Kaleena Smith** tier 2027 class. **The model is replicable; the attendance and the Staley track record are not.**

<!--pillar-weave-->
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- [How does the expanding size of B2B buying committees increase the risk of vendor consolidation paralysis?](/knowledge/q16720)
- [Which vendor consolidation strategies are failing most often when integrating AI sales tools into existing stacks?](/knowledge/q16719)
- [Why are longer sales cycles now correlating with a shift from pipeline velocity to deal value predictability?](/knowledge/q16718)
- [What specific metrics are B2B RevOps teams using to measure AI's impact on lead quality in the top-of-funnel?](/knowledge/q16717)


## Sources

- [On3 — South Carolina-driven NIL collectives Garnet Trust, Carolina Rise merge](https://www.on3.com/nil/news/south-carolina-athletics-nil-collectives-garnet-trust-carolina-rise-merge/)
- [On3 — South Carolina WBB players to each receive $25,000 in NIL deals](https://www.on3.com/nil/news/south-carolina-womens-basketball-players-to-each-receive-25000-in-nil-deals-garnet-trust/)
- [On3 — Dawn Staley brokers first-of-its-kind Rewind NIL deal](https://www.on3.com/nil/news/south-carolina-womens-basketball-gamecocks-dawn-staley-rewind-type-2-diabetes-nil-deal/)
- [On3 — Dawn Staley: South Carolina WBB to sign NDAs for revenue sharing](https://www.on3.com/college/south-carolina-gamecocks/news/dawn-staley-south-carolina-womens-basketball-to-sign-ndas-for-revenue-sharing/)
- [On3 — South Carolina WBB to play in new tournament, earn over $1M in NIL cash](https://www.on3.com/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks/news/south-carolina-womens-basketball-womens-championship-nil/)
- [On3 — South Carolina WBB 2027 recruiting preview](https://www.on3.com/teams/south-carolina-gamecocks/news/south-carolina-womens-basketball-2027-recruiting-preview/)
- [Front Office Sports — South Carolina NIL collective wants $25K for each WBB player](https://frontofficesports.com/south-carolina-wbb-nil/)
- [Business of College Sports — Garnet Trust making NIL deals for South Carolina WBB](https://businessofcollegesports.com/other/garnet-trust-making-nil-deals-for-south-carolinas-womens-basketball-team/)
- [Garnet Trust — Official site, About page](https://garnettrust.com/about/)
- [Phelps Dunbar — House v. NCAA Settlement Approved, Changing College Sports](https://www.phelps.com/insights/house-v-ncaa-settlement-approved-changing-the-market-of-college-sports.html)
- [Deseret News — South Carolina WBB players sign NDAs for revenue sharing](https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/08/14/revenue-sharing-nil-non-disclosure-agreements-south-carolina/)
- [The Daily Gamecock — WBB program headlines South Carolina Athletics](https://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2026/04/womens-basketball-program-headlines-south-carolina-athletics-sports-ambuehl)

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Kory White