Of the top 100 female athletes monetizing their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, two-thirds play one of two sports: basketball or gymnastics.

Why it matters: For female college athletes looking to cash in on their success, major inequities exist.

• Basketball players, tied to lucrative national TV deals, benefit from strong exposure that helps them build brands.
• Gymnasts tend to be some of the most viral college athletes on social media.

Between the lines: Athletes who cash in early as college stars are far more likely to cash in as professionals.

• Former Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark, now with the Indiana Fever, has carried most of her brand deals with her from college to the pros. The No. 1 WNBA draft pick signed a groundbreaking eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike in April.
• Former Louisiana State University star Angel Reese, now with the Chicago Sky, struck a deal this summer with The Hershey Company to offer limited-edition merchandise featuring Reese's Pieces candy. The "Bayou Barbie," as she was dubbed at LSU, has long called her fan base "Reese's pieces."

Zoom out: Even though female college athletes are, on average, striking more deals than males, men still make more.

• Between February 2023 and February 2024, female athletes landed more deals on average (3.5) compared to men (2.5), but male athletes made up 57% of NIL deals overall, per SponsorUnited.

Yes, but: Progress is still being made. More than half of the endorsements (52%) landed by the top 100 athletes based on the number of NIL deals in that timeframe went to women, compared to 38% the year prior.

LSU gymnastics star Livvy Dunne is in a league of her own when it comes to the social media and brand empire she's built as a college athlete in the NIL era.

By the numbers: Dunne is the only female athlete in the top 10 list of the highest NIL athlete valuations.

• Dunne's stardom took off during the pandemic and the rise of TikTok.
• Today she has more than 13 million followers across her social media channels.
• The projected valuation of her NIL deals is $4 million for the next 12 months, per On3, the industry tracker for NIL deals.

The bottom line: The value of an athlete's NIL deals is directly correlated to their ability to grow an audience on social media. But that doesn't come without risk.

• "The more eyes on you, the more people are going to try to tear you down," Dunne said in Axios Entertainment's docuseries "The Money Game."
• "I can get a lot of inappropriate comments," Reese said.
• "All of the stuff they say on a daily basis is disgusting," said LSU basketball star Flau'jae Johnson.

The schools with top-earning NIL athletes are investing in programs to train their athletes as business professionals.

Zoom in: LSU — which is spotlighted in "The Money Game" — leaned in earlier than most, taking out billboards in Times Square ahead of the historic July 1, 2021, day that the NCAA's new NIL rules went into effect.

• LSU associate athletic director of NIL strategy initiatives Taylor Jacobs was one of the first college executives to take a formal position developing NIL strategies for athletes.
• Jacobs and her team developed content strategies for their athletes and trained them in everything from business etiquette to pricing negotiations.
• "Because we were ready pretty much as of July 1 of 2021, we are that much further ahead of where other schools are," Jacobs told Axios on stage Monday.

The intrigue: Asked why athletic programs would want to invest in NIL training, knowing brand deals could distract athletes from the sport itself, Jacobs said it's become one of the most valuable recruitment tools a school can offer.

• "Prior to NIL, it was academic services and mental health and facilities and all of those things — that's what a coach would sell on a recruiting visit," Jacobs said.
• "Now, they're selling the NIL resources."

For student athletes entering college during the NIL era, inking brand deals isn't just about the money, but the exposure to real-world business training that can help fuel their careers for decades.

• ♀️ "This truly brought me into my womanhood and into the next chapter in my life, and that's all I really wanted out of it," LSU track star Alia Armstrong told Axios on stage Monday.
• 💰 "The money is material."

Zoom out: The runner and hurdler, who is working to qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, said balancing the business of her brand with her sport helped her realize how she can juggle in her future, per Axios' April Rubin. Armstrong says her goal is to be an actress.

"The Money Game" docuseries debuted Tuesday as the No. 2 TV show on Amazon Prime Video.

• The six-part series, also co-produced by Campfire Studios and NBA hall-of-famer Shaquille O'Neal, brings viewers inside the 2022-2023 season at sports powerhouse LSU.

What to watch: The series follows the experiences of current and former LSU athletes including gymnast Dunne, quarterback Jayden Daniels, track athlete Armstrong and basketball players Johnson, Reese and Trace Young.

• View the trailer.
• Watch the full series here.