California high school senior Bella Rasmussen made history on Tuesday when she became the first girl to sign an NIL deal as a football player, per On3.
The Laguna Beach High School star signed an NIL deal with KeyWise, an app focused on tracking people’s mental health with various objective metrics.
This news comes after Rasmussen became the first girl to score two touchdowns in a varsity football game back on Oct. 14.
After she gained nationwide star status from that game, Rasmussen was approached by various companies pitching NIL deals, her mother told On3. Ultimately, Rasmussen wanted to sign a deal with a company that focused on something that mattered to her, like mental health.
“Mental health is important for anybody, not just somebody that’s an athlete on an all boys’ team as a girl,” Rasmussen said. “Being an athlete, there’s a huge mental toll. That’s not talked about a lot. ... But outside of that in general, I’ve seen the effects of bad mental health and mental illnesses and how that’s damaged communities and people close to me, too. That’s always been something that’s important to me.”
Rasmussen finished her senior high school football season with a CIF Southern Section Division 9 championship, her school’s first since 1946.
The running back hasn’t made her mind up yet about whether she will continue to pursue football in college or not. But, she is keeping the possibility open.
“I feel like it goes well with the narrative,” Rasmussen said. “Every single time people told me, ‘You shouldn’t be playing high school football,’ then I went and played high school football. Then they were like, ‘You shouldn’t be playing varsity because the kids are going to be a lot bigger,’ and then I went and played varsity football and I did something incredible.
“So, if somebody were to tell me they were going to give me an opportunity to go play college football, would it probably be pretty dangerous? Yes. Will I maybe get hurt? Most likely. But why the hell not? I would go do it. If I had the opportunity to play tackle football again, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Don’t be surprised if you continue to see Rasmussen’s name. This week, she’s already appeared on The Today Show, the Jennifer Hudson Show, Access Hollywood and she previously fired off a canon ahead of the Chargers–Seahawks game on Oct. 23.
