TikTok Sensation and Brock Purdy Lookalike Inks NIL Deal to Attend Super Bowl
In the social media age, becoming a star is more accessible than ever. Internet fame knows no timeline; one day, you can lead a normal life, and the next, you are known worldwide. This is the case of fourteen-year-old Anna Frey, a sophomore tennis player from Farmington, Utah.
Mere months ago, Frey led a normal life in the sense that she was out of the public eye; however, the sophomore is far from your average high school student. Frey is currently ranked the number six singles player in the nation for her graduating class, is considered a blue-chip prospect by the Tennis Recruiting Network, and won the Utah 6A state championship as a freshman.
Beginning in late August, Frey appeared alongside many of her classmates in a series of TikToks detailing high school life. These videos, created by a fellow student at Farmington High School, became viral, largely due to the massive interaction from users commenting about Frey and her shared likeness with San Francisco 49ers' star quarterback Brock Purdy, who, like Frey, also understands overnight fame. Many videos from the page featuring Frey have individually been viewed over ten million times and received over a million likes. Comments on the posts that discuss her resemblance to Purdy receive tens of thousands of likes and replies.
Unlike many of her Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) contemporaries, Frey did not set out to become a celebrity on her own accord; rather, she was brought into the spotlight through a few funny comments and the unpredictable nature of “going viral.” However, now in the spotlight, Frey has not shied away from the fame. Her personal TikTok account now has over one and a half million followers and is quickly rising to the level of fame of the most notable amateur athletes on TikTok, such as Olivia Dunne, Bronny James, and Angel Reese.
It is crucial to note the importance of Frey being from Utah, one of the thirty-three states that allow high-school athletes to participate in NIL deals. With states having different postures on NIL at the prep level, Frey is in a position to leverage her millions of followers into potentially millions of dollars in endorsement deals over her final three years of high school. Luckily, the sophomore tennis star does not have to make the decision other elite athletes face: uprooting their lives to receive NIL compensation or staying at home and not being allowed to profit off their publicity rights.
Frey, in keeping with her source of fame, has agreed to a NIL partnership with Six Star Pro Nutrition and will head to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl – where her alleged doppelganger will be leading the San Francisco 49ers. Six Star Pro Nutrition was an early entrant to the NIL space, making headlines when they signed social media star athlete duo Haley and Hanna Cavinder on the first day NCAA NIL policy went into place in July 2021.
A statement from Tim Toll, CEO of Iovate Health Sciences, the parent company of Six Star Pro Nutrition, emphasizes that this deal goes beyond Frey’s resemblance to Purdy and speaks more to her values as an athlete: “It isn’t simply that Anna has embraced being part of the Big Game storyline, but this is a seamless integration for Six Star Pro Nutrition and our desire to work with an athlete on her journey from high school to college and then to the pros.”
As part of her Six Star Pro Nutrition partnership, Frey will become an ambassador for the brand's 100% Whey Protein Plus. She joins NFL star T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers and U.S. soccer sensation Kristie Mewis as brand ambassadors.
Frey has a long time left in high school sports. With NIL regulation changing in 2021, the tennis standout will serve as a novel case study of high school NIL policy. With such a large following only months after being shoved into the spotlight of internet culture, it will be interesting to see how her stardom impacts her tennis career, recruiting process, and ultimate college decision.
