Fintech company Ibotta strikes NIL agreements with four women student-athletes

The GIST: School’s out, but name, image, and likeness (NIL) dealmaking is still in. Emerging fintech company Ibotta struck NIL agreements with four women student-athletes on Thursday in an attempt to boost women’s sports and raise its own profile.

The company: Ibotta allows users to earn cash back at certain stores and save with in-app offers. It has 40M users, and has previously inked sponsorship deals with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans and Formula One driver Logan Sargeant.

The details: UConn hooper Paige Bueckers, Michigan track and field athlete Riley Ammenhauser, Arkansas sprinter Britton Wilson, and Florida softball player Skylar Wallace all secured deals with Ibotta. The quartet will develop and create social media content for the brand, including starring in a new series called Fridge Raiders.

• The series involves the athletes going through their parents’ fridges and providing them with a grocery list to show how much money they can save using Ibotta. Shopping spree.

Zooming out: For Ibotta, an NIL campaign is a savvy way to grow its profile — student-athletes are skillfully cultivating engaged audiences on social media, with women athletes taking the cake. A youth-focused initiative may also help Ibotta unlock Gen Z, who are more economically curious than generations before them. The kids are alright.