The whistle blows at the NERFBALL exhibition game, and Jada Williams runs behind a barricade in the arena.
She finds a breakaway to the basket, but it's no good. She was blasted by an opponent's dart, making her ineligible to score, according to the game's rulebook.
On the floor in the NERFBALL - Battle in the Bubble were young, premiere-level athletes promoting the sport and competing for a win in its exhibition game, which can be watched online. A combination of basketball and paintball, Williams was a perfect candidate for the game for her athleticism and notoriety.
She made her name and image known years ago, before she was a freshman at the University of Arizona. She was the first high school women’s basketball player to sign a national NIL deal when she inked with Spalding in October 2021, joining the ranks of the NBA’s Damian Lillard and DeMar DeRozan. Soon after, she signed with Gym Shark and Dick’s Sporting Goods, a partnership that was featured on WSLAM.
It all happened only a month after winning gold for Team USA at the FIBA Americas U-16 Championship.
“It’s getting easier to navigate,” Williams told Sporting News in an email while promoting her NERF partnership. “Back then it was such foreign territory, and being at the forefront of that we just had to figure things out and go with the flow because everything was so new.”
What wasn’t new was her following. Williams was already big on social media, giving her a platform that she could capitalize on with brand deals.
In February of 2022, she had 340,000 Instagram followers. That June she announced she changed her college commitment to Arizona, and in July she helped Team USA to another gold medal, this time at the FIBA U17 World Cup.
By the end of the year, her Instagram following had nearly doubled. She was ranked seventh on the On3 Women’s NIL 100 Ranking with a valuation of $550,000.
She now has 688,000 Instagram followers. She also has 447,000 followers on TikTok which has yielded 12.2 million likes on the platform. She’s since secured deals with Lemon Perfect and Move Insoles, which was co-founded by Lillard himself.
“The only pressure I have is from myself because I hold myself to a high standard. I'm at home at Arizona and I know my teammates have my back no matter what,” Williams said. “I’m just going to continue to be a leader and do whatever my teammates need from a point guard standpoint.”
First college bucket ✅✅✅ @mrsmac0606 #MadeForIt x #LeaveALegacy pic.twitter.com/JQCohRr9BQ
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaWBB) October 26, 2023
The Wildcats’ season opener was a 68-57 win over New Mexico State. Williams made her collegiate debut as a starter, the only freshman to do so, and made the night's first shot. She recorded four assists but scored only seven points, shooting 2-7 from the field and going 1-5 on three-point attempts.
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A McDonald’s All-American in high school, she’s expected to be one of the most impactful freshmen in the country, even on a team that finished as the national runner-up two seasons ago.
“My number one goal is to be the best teammate I can be,” Williams said. “I’m going to do what my team needs for us to win.”
Navigating social media and brand endorsements as a new college athlete is undoubtedly a challenge, but nothing Williams isn’t prepared for. She was ready to be pushed to new levels in every way, on the court and in the classroom.
”I’m taking it one day at a time. I've learned how to balance it all over the years,” she said. “Honestly keeping the main things the main things, my main focus is school and basketball and that always comes first. I have amazing people in my corner to help me along the way, and navigate the NIL space.”
*Interview edited for clarity
