Golf NIL Valuation Rankings: Week 8 Movement
- Golf NIL
- Feb 20
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 23
February 20, 2025
Money Moves
Kai Trump, No. 1 in the Golf NIL High School Girls Rankings (fourth overall), announced a new partnership with TaylorMade. This marks her second NIL sponsorship announcement since December.
Golf NIL has been tracking Trump for several months. We've watched interest in her grow immediately after the Republican National Convention when her social media followers tripled from 120,000 to 380,000 practically overnight.
By November, she surpassed two million followers and started expanding her social content to connect with fans while collaborating with some of the biggest names in the industry. With our Insights feature, "Kai Trump is setting the stage to become golf's next Livvy Dunne," along with a $1.2 million Golf NIL valuation, we knew we were witnessing something that would transcend golf and help shape the entire NIL landscape.
Today, Golf NIL's valuation metrics put Trump at $2 million. With more than 5.4 million followers, she's now one of the most-followed athletes in amateur sports, only continuing to grow in popularity.
It's good to see more outlets taking notice.
Miles Russell bumps up to a $546K valuation this week. Russell went wire-to-wire to win the AGJA Simplify Boys Championship. No. 2 in the Golf NIL High School Boys Rankings, he's now achieved back-to-back Invitational wins while making history, firing the second-lowest opening round in tournament history.
From a performance perspective, this continues to prove the strength of his game. From an NIL look, it's gold. Russell is a headline athlete who moves the media needle.
Gianna Clemente, Golf NIL High School Girls No. 4, is teeing it up with the pros this week at the Honda LPGA Thailand. One of two amateurs competing in the 72-player field, the anticipation of Clemente's appearance has sparked widespread interest.
Both the USGA and LPGA have promoted her appearance on social media, with the USGA highlighting Clemente's role in their "The Future Is Now" documentary and LPGA touting her opening round with 2014 Honda champion Anna Nordqvist.
Major Moves
This week, the Arizona State senior Jose Luis Ballester Barrio breaks into the Golf NIL Top 10, becoming the tenth most valuable athlete across our boards and seventh in our Men's College Rankings.
On a sponsor exemption, Ballester is making his second PGA TOUR start in three weeks at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, eyeing an opportunity to move up in the PGA TOUR U rankings, where he currently occupies the No. 3 spot. The Spaniard was one of four players—and only amateur—spotlighted in the TOUR's pre-tournament solo press conference interviews.
