With Caitlin Clark in the WNBA, a lot of players have the potential to step into her shoes in college basketball. JuJu Watkins has been highly touted as one of CC’s successors and some stats would say the USC sophomore is on the right path. But in the era of NIL, where the Iowa sensation excelled, and Watkins has changed the game, who stands out most? Despite a recent deal with Nike, some numbers would say that the Indiana Fever guard still leads against Watkins.

The Trojans guard just signed a deal with State Farm, only the second college athlete to do so after Caitlin Clark herself. With a net worth projected at $134 billion in February, the insurance company is expanding into the college basketball scene, catering to its growing audience. But for the WNBA Rookie of the Year, her 2023 deal with Goldman Sachs reigns superior.

With the contract reportedly signed on March 16th, Clark appeared in a lobbying commercial for 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, an extension of the Fortune 500 company. The ad was aimed at the federal government to re-authorize the Small Business Administration. And per multiple reports, Goldman Sachs is evaluated at more than $160 billion.

So while both Clark and Watkins have their deals with Nike, the USC star’s biggest NIL deal is currently with State Farm, whereas the Iowa star was always ahead of her. Interestingly, State Farm is sponsoring an upcoming documentary on their latest signee called “On the Rise: JuJu Watkins,” presented by LeBron James’ UNINTERRUPTED and 4.4.Fourty Media.

One thing to note here is that Caitlin Clark has never had a documentary focused solely on her. Not yet, anyway. Watkins is ahead of her in that respect, but when it comes to comparisons with the most famous women’s basketball player, what does the 19-year-old think?

JuJu Watkins could not be less bothered by Caitlin Clark comparisons

With the top dog spot currently empty in women’s college basketball, there are a number of names that could potentially fill it. Aside from JuJu Watkins, there’s also Paige Bueckers, but one thing the USC Trojans guard wants to remind us is that she’s never playing with any pressure of comparison in mind.

This signing with State Farm was bound to bring up CC, but Watkins told Athlon Sports, “I would say I just do my best to be myself and play my way. I don’t really think too much about the comparisons or the pressure, but I would say I just go out there and try to have fun, do what I do and continue to work hard. I think that’s my mentality always.” 

These two superstars’ successes have certainly come at different ages in their careers in different scenarios for women’s basketball. So, while one could sit down and compare their numbers on and off the court, some might say there are too many factors to determine who wins against who!