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By Ricardo Sandoval
Contributing Sports Writer
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USC superstar sophomore guard JuJu Watkins has signed a historic deal with Nike.
Watkins has agreed to a multiyear contract extension with Nike that will give her one of the richest shoe endorsement deals in women's basketball.
ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news via Twitter/X.
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"Nike officials finished discussions Tuesday on the deal, with negotiations led by Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and Watkins' team, including agent Jade-Li English, head of marketing Eric Eways and vice president of basketball marketing Brittany McCallum."
Watkins originally signed with Nike as a high school senior in October 2022. She signed the deal along with other former college stars like Caitlin Clark, Bronny James, Haley Jones, and DJ Wagner.
The 19-year-old established herself as one of the best college athletes as a freshman. Watkins became the all-time leading scorer among freshmen in NCAA Divison-1 women's basketball history. Watkins scored a total of 920 points to surpass the San Diego State's Tina Hutchinson's record in 1983-84.
Watkins' freshman season was one for the history books, as she was named the Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award, First-team All-American, All-Pac-12 Team, Pac-12 All-Defensive Team, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, and USBWA National Freshman of the Year.
In a year when Clark took over the basketball world, Watkins did her part and established herself as the future face of college basketball. Watkins averaged 27.1 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and shot 40.1 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from three in 34.6 minutes.
In early February, Watkins broke the USC single-season scoring record held by Cherie Nelson in 1989 when she dropped a career-high 51 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 67-58 victory over AP No. 4 Stanford.
Watkins is a California native from Los Angeles. She attended Windward School and Sierra Canyon prior to attending USC. She was a five-star recruit and the number one player in the 2023 class, according to ESPN. Watkins chose USC over schools like Stanford and South Carolina.
Watkins led the Trojans to the Pac-12 title game with a victory over Stanford and a 29-6 record. Watkins also USC to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and to a trip to the Elite Eight before UConn defeated them, 80-73. Watkins dropped 27 points in her final game as a freshman
That is all behind Watkins now, as her focus will continue to be to lead USC to new heights and get paid in the process.
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