Anna Frey: How a Tennis TikTok Star Built a $681K NIL Brand

The internet decided Anna Frey looked like a Super Bowl quarterback. She turned that into more than two million followers, a six-figure NIL valuation, and a spot at one of the country's best college programs, all before she played her first college match. The lookalike was luck. Everything after it was a playbook, and the playbook is the part you can copy.

The Brock Purdy moment, and what she did with it

In early 2024, Frey's TikTok followers started saying she looked like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. She did not ignore it. She leaned in and publicly campaigned for a ticket to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas to watch Purdy play. The story went viral across American media, she got the ticket, and her following rocketed past one million, then past two million.

Plenty of athletes go viral for a day and vanish. Frey treated the spotlight like a runway and kept producing once she had it, which is the difference between a moment and a brand.

The numbers (as of mid-2026)

Frey has more than 800,000 followers on Instagram and over two million on TikTok. She carries a roughly $681,000 On3 NIL valuation, an estimate of her brand value, not a salary, and at the time it was the highest in girls' high school tennis. Her brand deals include American Eagle, FILA, Head, and Nerds, and she went a step further than most by taking an equity stake in the tech company Udo Cam rather than just a one-time paid post.

She can actually play (this is why it sticks)

Strip out the followers and Frey is still a serious player. She was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally in her recruiting class, was a two-time semifinalist at the USTA Billie Jean King Girls' 16s Nationals, and won a Utah state title at No. 1 singles. On the pro side she reached a career-high WTA ranking around No. 803 and beat the world No. 103 at a 2024 WTA event in Cleveland. As a UNC freshman she went 16-5 in singles and won three matches during the Tar Heels' run to the NCAA Elite Eight.

That matters, because the audience opened the door but the game is why she stays in the room. Brands and coaches both saw a real competitor, not just a viral clip. Her family kept that front and center even as the fame hit. "It's been drinking out of a firehose," her father Tanner told Salt Lake City's FOX 13 as the story exploded. "We mostly just want to make sure she stays safe, keeps a level head and stays focused on tennis."

The playbook: What actually transfers

You will probably never get her exact moment. You do not need it. The mechanics work at any size.

Post consistently, and mix real life with real tennis. Frey did not only post highlights. She posted a person her age fans wanted to follow, with the tennis woven in.

Lean into what makes you different instead of hiding it. She embraced the comparison the internet handed her rather than waiting for it to pass.

Engage, do not just broadcast. The Super Bowl campaign worked because she did something with the attention, not because she sat still and collected it.

Back it with results. The follower count gets you looked at. The match results are why a brand or a coach commits.

Turn attention into ownership. An equity stake lasts longer than a single sponsored post. Think about what you are building, not just what you are getting paid today.

What a junior should take from this

Your version is smaller and that is fine. A few thousand engaged local followers, a steady feed of real matches, and genuine results is already an NIL asset, and it is already what college coaches check before they reply to your email. The exact size of Frey's moment is not the point. The mechanism is. Build an audience, show you can play, and make both easy to find.

UTR rates you. Anna Frey got known. That is the half of the game most players ignore, and it is the half you control.