Southern California women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins has joined an investor group for the Boston Legacy Football Club.
The Boston Legacy is an expansion team in the National Women’s Soccer League that will begin playing in March 2026.
Watkins was formally welcomed with a press release on Nov. 6. She is the first college athlete to invest directly into a professional women’s team.
“Juju’s investment marks a groundbreaking moment for women’s sports and the power of NIL,” Jennifer Epstein, the controlling owner of the Boston Legacy FC, said in the release. “As the first college athlete to directly invest in a women’s professional sports team, she’s showing that today’s student-athletes aren’t just building their own brands — they’re shaping the future of the game.”
Watkins joins a group of investors that includes former USC and current Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston and Boston Celtics general manager Brad Stevens are also among the investors.
“Boston Legacy FC is creating a space for women to achieve, lead, and inspire others at the highest level,” Watkins said in the statement, “and I’m proud to be part of the movement pushing women’s sports forward.”
Will JuJu Watkins play for USC this season?
While the women’s college basketball season started Nov. 3, Watkins will not participate. She will miss the 2025-26 season as she continues her recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear. It will count as her redshirt year.
Watkins suffered the injury in her right knee during an NCAA tournament second-round game against Mississippi State on March 24, 2025.
She finished last season with several accolades, including the Women’s Wooden Award and Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year honor.
Watkins is expected to return to USC for the 2026-27 season with two years of eligibility remaining.