H&R Block Signs Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, South Carolina’s Zia Cooke To NIL Deals, Eyes Pacts With Other Female College Athletes

H&R Block, Inc. has signed sponsorship deals with University of Iowa sophomore guard Caitlin Clark and University of South Carolina junior guard Zia Cooke as part of a new program from the tax preparation company aimed at investing in female college athletes.

Clark and Cooke, two of the best women’s basketball players in the nation, are the first participants in H&R Block’s “A Fair Shot” campaign. The company plans on announcing additional deals in the coming days and weeks with several more athletes in basketball as well as other sports. The transactions with Clark and Cooke occur two weeks before the NCAA tournament begins, a few weeks before taxes are due and during the first school year in which college athletes can profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL), which went into effect on July 1, 2021.

H&R Block would not disclose the financial details of its pacts with Clark and Cooke, but it noted that the deals are for “above market rates.” The company placed a total value of $1 million on the program across all of its participants. But that includes tax preparation and financial advice, so the exact amount of cash H&R Block is shelling out to players could not be learned.

Starting today, Clark and Cookie will promote the company’s tax preparation services through videos on their social media channels. They are not expected to appear on television advertisements.

Clark is the NCAA Division 1 leader in points (27.5) and assists (8.3) per game, while Cooke is the third-leading scorer on No.1-ranked South Carolina and a reigning first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection.

Jeff Jones, H&R Block’s president and chief executive, noted the company does not currently have partnerships with other college or professional sports players, teams or leagues. But he said the firm decided to pursue this initiative because college athletes for the first time will need help figuring out the tax implications of their NIL deals. And it is targeting female athletes to highlight the inequities they face compared with their male counterparts, according to Jones.

“There are multiple reasons why we’re picking the athletes we are, but I think these two in particular just have a great track record of both their performance on the court but also their advocacy off the court,” Jones said. “We know they feel personally and strongly about these kind of issues. We think they’ll be incredible spokespeople not just for H&R Block but on the topic of inequity.”

Clark, who has 21,900 followers on Twitter and 132,000 followers on Instagram, has seen her national profile increase this season. That was never more apparent than on Sunday against Michigan when Clark had 38 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds in Iowa’s 104-80 victory that clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season title.

After that game, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant praised Clark via Twitter, while Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James did the same through an Instagram story.

Clark, who led the nation in scoring last season at 26.6 points per game and was second with 7.1 assists per game, has capitalized on her fame with other NIL deals. Those include a deal with the Hy-Vee grocery store chain, which is headquartered in Clark’s hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa, and the Vinyl Studio, a West Des Moines-based design studio that sells Clark-inspired t-shirts and sweatshirts. 

The H&R Block is the largest for Clark in terms of exposure as the company is a nationally recognized brand that generated $3.4 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2021. H&R Block has more than 12,000 offices in all 50 states as well as Australia, Canada, Germany and other countries. Clark said she had turned down other NIL offers before accepting H&R Block’s pitch.

“It was an easy yes for me,” Clark said. “With the new NIL guidelines and student athletes having to pay taxes, I think H&R Block is something we’re really going to need. It’s not something we’ve really had to deal with before as a student athlete. They want to get involved and help us and guide us through this process of paying taxes and knowing what to do with our money and help us be financially stable down the line, as well.”

Cooke, meanwhile, has 15,500 followers on Twitter and 205,000 followers on Instagram. She is among the best players on a South Carolina team that is the favorite to win the national title. The Gamecocks (27-1) received all 30 first-place votes in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll and were the top overall seed in the NCAA women’s basketball seeding reveal on Monday night.  

Cooke has also signed other NIL deals, including with Dick’s Sporting Goods and fast food chain Bojangles.

Opendorse, an athlete marketing platform, noted in late March 2021 that Cooke (fifth) and Clark (20th) were among the top 20 players (men or women) competing in the NCAA Tournament in terms of number of combined followers on Instagram and Twitter. And in January, Opendorse revealed that women’s basketball players in general accounted for 26.2% of the total NIL compensation for all sports between July 1, 2021 and Dec. 31, 2021, according to the company’s database. Football, with 45.7% of the total compensation, was the only sport with a higher percentage. Opendorse would not reveal data for individual players.

Still, Opendorse also noted that women accounted for only 32.6% of the NIL compensation provided to NCAA Division 1 athletes during the final six months of 2021. That discrepancy did not surprise Clark, who said she has seen women’s players in general struggling to receive as much attention or treated in the same way as their male peers.

During last year’s NCAA tournament, there were numerous reports of the conditions at the women’s event paling in comparison to the men’s event, as well. And in August, a law firm hired by the NCAA released a 113-page report criticizing the NCAA’s approach to supporting women’s basketball and pointing out equity issues.

“(Equity between women and men) is what we need, and that’s what H&R Block is trying to do as well is create that fair play for all of us and shrinking that gap,” Clark said. “That’s what my teammates are passionate about, as well, and that’s what the other female college athletes across the country want. That’s the whole point of this campaign is shrinking that gap and getting equity for all of us between men’s and women’s sports.”