Jayden Daniels may have lost his rookie season opener with the Washington Commanders on Sunday, but he’s starring in a brand-new documentary on a revolution in college sports.
The six-episode docuseries “The Money Game” premieres Tuesday on Amazon Prime Video, chronicling the aftermath of a 2021 Supreme Court decision that allowed college athletes to make money off their “Name, Image and Likeness” (NIL), a financial barrier long held by the NCAA for its student athletes.
The series is told through the lens of one specific school, Louisiana State University, which saw numerous athletes sign groundbreaking NIL deals with a big impact on the economy of not only Baton Rouge, but on college sports nationwide. These include product endorsements, television commercials and even video games (archival footage shows former UCLA hoops star Ed O’Bannon playing himself in an NCAA video game with zero compensation).
Episode 1 is fitting titled “The Wild West” for such uncharted territory. The opening credits introduce our five main characters with nifty graphics showing their number of Instagram followers: gymnast Olivia Dunne (15.6 million), football star Jayden Daniels (300,000), women’s basketball stars Angel Reese (7.9 million) and Flau’jae Johnson (3.4 million), track star Alia Armstrong (53,200) and men’s basketball star Trace Young (360,500).
Ironically, Daniels appears to have the most apathetic approach to social media and NIL deals, knowing that his true earning potential will come by turning pro. Episode 1 shows Daniels’ breakout victory over Alabama in 2022 before his electrifying 2023 season got him drafted at No. 2 overall in the NFL Draft. Episode 1 wraps with Daniels injured with a concussion, an effective cliffhanger even if we already know he bounces back to win the Heisman.
While football carries 90% of the LSU Athletic Department’s annual budget of $199 million, the smaller sports have to scrap for more exposure by churning out social media content to ink NIL deals. Young comes across cocky on and off the basketball court as he approaches WWE scouts at a convention, while Armstrong is a lovable track-and-field underdog, dutifully meeting with school NIL liaisons, then giving the glory to God with each hurdle.
Still, no one is more successful at this new “money game” than gymnast Dunne, who has quickly built her name, image and likeness into a global brand worth millions. The filmmakers show her at home playfully making TikTok videos with her sister, who is also her biggest fan screaming her head off in the stands, but at what price? Dunne was surprisingly benched in the finals as her teammates won LSU gymnastics its first national championship.
Last but not least, you can be damn sure the docuseries chronicles the LSU women’s basketball program, namely Reese and Johnson. LSU alum and the docuseries’ co-producer Shaquille O’Neal said, “When I purchased Reebok, the first person I called was Angel.” We even see flashbacks of O’Neal breaking backboards and branding his “Shaq” character, intercut with him now cheering on the sidelines during games and DJing at college parties.
More than Daniels on the gridiron, the main character (or even “antihero”) so far is Reese, who transferred from the University of Maryland to LSU. Episode 2 is titled “The Price Just Went Up,” a phrase declared by Reese and Johnson after winning the 2023 national title, while Episode 3 is titled “You Can’t See Me,” referring to the John Cena hand gesture Reese made to Caitlin Clark, sparking discussion over claims of a double standard.
That’s where I left off — with three episodes to go. I can’t wait to watch Episode 4, 5 and 6. All I can tell you is that Episode 3 ends with another cliffhanger as controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey benches Reese and refuses to explain why during press conferences. One analyst quips, “NIL has divided the locker room” as Twitter/X posts wildly speculate about a rift. Reese replied, “Don’t believe everything you read.” Cut to black.
NOTE: I found the subject matter personally amusing since I visited LSU to watch my cousin Jake Fraley play baseball for the Tigers before being drafted into the MLB. This was back when NIL wasn’t yet a possibility for players like Jake, who is now on the Cincinnati Reds. I’d be curious to get his take on this at the next Fraley family reunion.
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