Sacramento-area high school athletes get paid to use social media. Coaches say it’s the future

As viral social media videos go, one featuring a day in the life of Hope Jenkins is relatively unremarkable.

The St. Francis High School softball star wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and goes straight to the gym. She lifts weights. She runs sprints and does push-ups. She goes to school. Then she hits some softballs in the afternoon before going home to study.

And as of Tuesday, the video had more than 125,000 views and nearly 25,000 likes.

It’s exactly the kind of video high school coaches and parents would like to see go viral. It’s also the kind of content student-athletes could monetize. Some already have.

Bay Area quarterback Jaden Rashada made waves last month when it was announced he signed a four-figure endorsement deal. Though the deal was touted as possibly the first endorsement agreement for a high school athlete in the country, Casa Roble football player Dylan Overstreet confirmed to The Bee he had endorsement deals last spring, his senior year with the Rams. Overstreet, who now plays for the University of Nevada, has 1.6 million followers on TikTok and more than 140,000 on Instagram.

With athletes becoming enormously popular at a young age, it’s likely the Sacramento area will see more endorsement deals, coaches said. The consensus thus far: more power to them. But it could change the games.

Elk Grove softball coach Amanda Buck pointed to Jenkins’ viral TikTok as a positive way social media can be used. Even if Buck herself doesn’t necessarily get the appeal.

“I think that’s kind of crazy that our whole world is so geared with social media, but if the kids have the opportunities and he’s doing it in a mature manner and they’re still representing themselves in the right way and their sport and school in the right way, more power to them,” she said. “With money issues and college being so expensive, I think parents would agree too, a lot of these kids can’t really work jobs because they’re so dedicated to their sport so you know, if you can make money being that way, I guess it’s fine.”

Social media dominance

Folsom football coach Paul Doherty says he’s not all that interested in social media. But he pays attention to it because he has to stay on top of what his players are doing. Doherty doesn’t understand why companies would want to ink deals with kids, but he doesn’t oppose it.

“It’s just like a job at McDonald’s, right? I think kids in our day used to mow lawns to pay for summer camp or whatever,” he said. “It’s an endorsement deal. That’s the way it works now.”

The problem isn’t kids making money, though that does raise some issues. Most often, the problem is how kids use social media.

By no means is the problem limited only to athletes. Every kid on social media must find a way to use Instagram, TikTok and SnapChat in ways they feel comfortable. And they have to avoid getting in trouble.

Doherty said he’s dealing with social media all the time, though he’d rather not even use most of the apps himself. A couple years ago, his team had a problem with a player who used racial epithets on SnapChat, so Doherty has seen firsthand how bad social media can be for a team and everybody at a school.

“Kids making inappropriate comments or posting inapropriate pictures, or bullying or sexual harrassment,” he said. “I could not be an administrator. There’s just so much to manage and oversee and police. And kids are 14, 15 and make mistakes. But when you hit send in a text or put it on SnapChat or Instagram, that stuff doesn’t go away. …

“I can see a litany of conflict there. Kids are kids for a reason and they’re minors for a reason. They’re in high school to be parented and directed. The social media thing, you don’t have much control over it.”

Boys vs. Girls

Buck, the Elk Grove softball coach, said social media can be especially difficult for girls. Athletes want to be recognized for their success on the field, but social media often rewards boys for different things than girls.

“It might be a totally different situation for a female athlete to be recognized because a female athlete has to portray herself in a more seductive way, the beautiful female athlete portrayal instead of just a stud athlete,” she said.

That’s why Buck pointed to Jenkins’ use of TikTok as a positive influence. A few of the senior pitcher’s videos are just for fun, but the majority show what it takes to be a top athlete. Jenkins, who is committed to attend the University of Connecticut after she graduates with twin sister Grace this spring, is shown in videos lifting weights, doing pull-ups and flexing her muscles.

Her social media presence is by design, Jenkins said. This isn’t about getting thousands of followers, though she has more than 3,500. It’s about showing people what it takes to be a top-tier athlete, and maybe helping some figure out how to do it for themselves.

“With TikTok, I like to inspire people,” she said. “I love being productive, I love having an organized life. I feel when I see those kind of TikToks, it inspires me and motivates me to organize my life better, be the best I can be. … I just hope to inspire people and show people what a healthy lifestyle can be.”

Though she doesn’t have a huge number of followers, it’s getting to the point where Jenkins might be able to find some sponsorships. She’s not opposed to the idea, but her TikTok account was never created because she needed income. She’s a kid and this is a normal kid thing to do.

“I’m still 17, I’m just seeing it as a fun platform,” Jenkins said. “Maybe if I looked more into it in the future as something I wanted to do, using social media as an outlet, that would be pretty cool.

“I prefer it as a fun outlet. I don’t want to get so attached to it at a young age. There’s so much more to life than producing video and getting sponsorships. Living life is more important than the fame and attention you get on social media. That’s why I tend to not release videos every single day. It’s really cool kids are getting so much attention. … I don’t want pressure on me at such a young age.”

Winning at social media

If we’re at the leading edge of a trend where high school athletes get paid for using social media, there’s an obvious question to ask: How will it affect teams on the field?

Sacramento-area football coaches say some kids are definitely going to profit off their name, image and likeness. And as a result, some coaches will eventually figure out how to use that to their advantage.

“I think eventually NIL deals fit right into the current mobile landscape of high school football,” Sheldon coach Chris Nixon said. “Families will already move or transfer to the programs they deem best. NILs will be one more factor in family decisions. If the Pittsburg quarterback can get a four-figure deal, there are plenty of good football players in the Sacramento area capable of that.”

Players switching schools is relatively common, coaches said. Doherty said Rashada, the Pittsburg quarterback, was originally slated to attend Folsom before he transferred.

When families look for an attractive situation to play their son or daughter, coaches might see an opportunity to market their school as the destination of choice.

“I think anytime there’s a variable out there, it’s possible there’s an edge,” Doherty said.

That edge could be a problem for some schools. Schools in lower-income areas have been hit hard by players transferring to wealthier schools or schools that are simply better at sports. If a school in a wealthy area has businesses that want to pay the quarterback or point guard a sponsorship deal, that could tilt the tables even more. Or larger schools could simply offer more friendships and a jumpstart on building a social media presence.

Chris Horner, the Casa Roble coach, watched Overstreet, his star running back, rack up more than a million TikTok followers. Overstreet stayed at his home school despite its relatively small size, with about 1,000 students and playing in the third-smallest division out of seven in the area.

It hasn’t happened yet, but Horner said he’s keeping a wary eye on social media rights.

“I’m sure if we give it enough time, there will be a story about how a coach was able to take advantage of the NIL to lure the right transfer to their respective school,” Horner said.

This story was originally published January 23, 2022 at 5:00 AM.