Angel Reese is paying it forward with a $12,000 donation to her former high school, St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
In Reese’s four years at the school, she benefited from a similar donation, according to her mother, who announced the $12K donation on Twitter. The gift will cover the tuition costs for a female basketball player at the school, LSU announced in a news release.
Angel Reese of the LSU Lady Tigers speaks during a press conference after the LSU Lady Tigers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 during the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game at American Airlines Center on April 02, 2023, in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
The All-American forward is taking advantage of her newfound popularity to support her high school alma mater. She was a top-five recruit in the class of 2020 after her senior year at St. Frances, SI reports.
Reese was a top women’s college basketball player last season while leading the LSU Tigers to their first national championship.
Reese’s estimated NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) evaluation soared over $1 million after being named Most Outstanding Player in the women’s Final Four. New York Post reports that the valuation reached $1.6 million as of June.
Reese has a slew of NIL deals with sports, tech, beauty, fashion and lifestyle brands. According to On3, she signed lucrative contracts with Intuit TurboTax, Raising Cane’s, Caktus AI, Campus Ink, SI Swimsuit, Mielle Organics, Starry, Bose, Coach, and Sonic.
Reese was among the first seven college athletes to ink a deal with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s new energy drink, ZOA. She also signed an endorsement partnership with Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge.
According to the Post, Reese has NIL deals with McDonald’s, Xfinity, Wingstop and JanSport.
“It’s cool because, one, you really don’t see Black women doing a lot of deals, especially with a lot of these brands — so, just to see me being an example for a lot of young girls that look like me, and just giving them a point just to know that they can do it,” Reese told Overtime.
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