The landscape of NCAA basketball has changed a lot in recent times. With college athletes now allowed to profit off of their likeness, a number of them have found different ways to make money while still being in college. A pair of twins, Haley and Hanna Cavinder, both basketball players, have found fame through their social media presence.
Last season, the twins played at Fresno State and put up impressive numbers, as shared by the New York Post. They led the team in points, rebounds, and assists with Haley notching 19.8 per game and Hanna scoring 14.5 per game. But the real headlines were made by the money they made off of NIL deals, something they spoke about to the Post.
“When NIL did pass, it surprised a lot of people that Hanna and I and other female athletes were leading the way,” Haley told The Post. “I think it shows that female athletes have as much power as male athletes and NIL has been the driving force.”
A lot of their TikTok fame has also occurred thanks to their basketball skills, with their rise to 4m followers on the app coming mostly during the pandemic. The sisters would share videos of themselves dribbling in tandem and sinking insane shots.
And understandably, their fame has seemingly made them a target for those that want to talk trash. And now after making the move from Fresno State to the University of Miami, the twins have given out a warning that they’ll see anyone that has an issue with them on the court.
“A lot of people like to let us know about it,” Haley said of their social-media popularity. “But we’ll see them on the court.”
It’s great to see young athletes like the Cavinder twins make money off of their popularity and it shows that many young ballers have figured out a way to maximize their earnings even before they make it to the NBA or the WNBA. If they can also back it up on the court, then the sky is the limit for budding stars like these.
