Azzi Fudd Lifts UConn to Top of NIL Sales

This year, holiday shopping coincided with basketball season, and the NIL Store delivered its largest single month to date. And at the center of that sales stand Azzi Fudd and UConn Women’s Basketball. Together, they have reshaped the entire NIL leaderboard.

Fudd finished the month as the top-selling individual athlete in women’s sports. Meanwhile, UConn Women’s Basketball surged past Purdue Men’s Basketball to reclaim the No. 1 program spot. That pairing tells a story of a fanbase that showed up everywhere it mattered.

In fact, the Huskies have had 57,195 fans attend 11 games to help power an undefeated season. Now, coming to Fudd, this is the second time this month that Fudd has topped an NIL list. During this year's Black Friday sales, she has out-earned every athlete in the country, including Purdue men’s guard Braden Smith.

The Top Selling Athletes on the NIL Store last week 👀

1. Azzi Fudd
2. Braden Smith
3. Fernando Mendoza
4. Andrej Stojakovic
5. Coen Carr
6. Diego Pavia
7. Kiyan Anthony
8. Fletcher Loyer
9. Audi Crooks
10. Keaton Wagler pic.twitter.com/G7szscCBIf
— The NIL Store (@nil_store) December 15, 2025

Fudd’s Black Friday–Cyber Monday run pushed her to No. 1 overall, powered by a viral throwback football jersey that became the single best-selling item of the weekend. The ripple effect was massive, triggering a threefold increase in women’s basketball sales.

Behind her, Andrej Stojakovic, Omer Mayer, Kylan Boswell, Coen Carr, and Fernando Mendoza all landed among the top earners nationally during the black friday surge. Now, with monthly earnings, UConn and Fudd have again created history.

UConn Women’s Basketball finished November as the No. 1 selling program, overtaking Purdue Men’s Basketball, Illinois Men’s Basketball, and Michigan State Men’s Basketball in the process. Ohio State Football rounded out the Top 5.

For the 13th time in the last 14 months, UConn’s women owned the top spot. It is a level of consistency no other program can touch. That has pushed UConn to the No. 1 spot as the top-selling school, finishing ahead of Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Iowa.

Three straight months on top didn’t happen by accident. It happened because one program consistently delivered the stars fans wanted to support, and one star kept leading the charge.

UConn’s NIL Momentum Runs Through Its Women, Not Its Men

If November proved anything, it’s where UConn’s NIL engine truly lives. The women swept. Fudd, Strong, and KK Arnold finished first, second, and third on the women’s earnings list, making UConn the only school in the country to claim the entire podium.

Fudd’s impact is already clear on the floor. In her first fully healthy season since postponing the WNBA Draft, she’s averaging 17.7 points per game, shooting 50 percent from the field and an absurd 52.9 percent from three.

Just watching the video of Azzi gifting her teammates our bomber jackets again @UConnNILStore pic.twitter.com/agiEaBX0Js
— The NIL Store (@nil_store) December 19, 2025

Meanwhile, Strong has been just as relentless. She’s posting 17.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 60 percent overall, giving UConn a second star whose consistency shows up both in box scores and in sales. Arnold completes the trio, contributing 6.7 points, strong on-ball defense, and steady guard play that fans have clearly embraced.

Compare that to the men’s side, and the contrast is stark. The Top 10 male earners were led by Braden Smith, followed by Stojakovic, Omer Mayer, Coen Carr, and Kiyan Anthony, and not a single UConn men’s player appeared on the list. Purdue alone placed three athletes in the Top 10. UConn placed zero.

With December looming and basketball season accelerating, the only real question left is whether anyone can slow the momentum Azzi Fudd and UConn Women’s Basketball have already built.

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