POTOMAC, Md. — Fifteen-year-old Lexi Ewing is the daughter of Georgetown Hoops legend and NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing. But the 6-foot-3 Bullis High School sophomore doesn’t rise above the rim. She soars above the volleyball net.
Because it’s Mom’s shoes Lexi is really trying to fill.
“When it comes to volleyball, I leave that to mom,” Patrick Ewing said.
“No coaching. I just try to you know, be a be a dad.”
“She's so much better than I was at her age,” said Lexi’s mom Cheryl Weaver.
Weaver is a Hall of Famer, too. A former volleyball star at Sidwell Friends in Washington, D.C., then, Long Beach State University before playing professionally overseas.
Ewing is already ranked in the top 100 in her class nationally. At a recent practice for her her travel volleyball team, Virginia Juniors, Coach Jharred Tulloch told the standout she is already receiving significant interest from top Division 1 colleges.
“Vandy called today, and we have Stanford tomorrow,” Tulloch told Ewing. “Colorado State called me last week.”
She isn’t just grabbing the attention of college scouts. Only WUSA9 was there in April when Ewing became the first high school women’s athlete in Maryland to ink an NIL, or name image and likeness deal. She signed on to be a paid spokesperson for Maryland-based "College Hunks Moving."
College Hunks doesn’t disclose how much their NIL deals are worth, although NIL marketplace “opendorse” estimated the average NIL deal for a college volleyball player is around $400. A women’s college basketball player can average close to $3,000 per NIL Deal.
But College Hunks co-owner Nick Friedman said NIL deals aren’t just about the money.
“Look we're not a big brand like a Nike or a Bleacher Report,” Friedman said. “They can go out and buy, you know, blue chip athletes for tons of money. So, we try to look for athletes that are looking to build their brand.”
Patrick Ewing believes his daughter is only scratching the surface of her potential.
“That was her first,” Ewing said of Lexi’s NIL deal. “Hopefully it will be her first of many more to come.”
Lexi said the competition to sign NIL deals among young athletes is becoming more and more common.
“I feel like getting one of these deals [makes it] easier for you to get on my good colleges, radars,” she said. “And I feel like a lot of young athletes really want that.”
And more and more young female athletes are getting it. According to the sports data insights company, On3, two of the top 10 NIL earners are women. LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne’s NIL valuation now sits at $3.4 million, just behind top earner Bronny James, son of Lebron James, who is also still in high school.
“I think a lot of this is just a platform to really be able to showcase like who you are as an individual, just not an athlete,” Weaver said. “Like what you stand for, what you believe in, like you have a voice.”
Lexi said her NIL deal won’t change the way she plays.
“I just feel like it's just going to get my name out there more. And that's just how I'm going to use it,” she said. “I'm not going to like, get too cocky about it or anything,” she said with a smile.
Overall, data from NIL research company “opendorse” says men’s sports still make up 77% of NIL compensation right now, driven largely by the big business of college football.
WATCH NEXT: