Keurig signs multiple star men's, women's basketball players to NIL deals ahead of March Madness
Ahead of the NCAA Tournament’s First Four, Keurig kickstarted the Madness by signing an impressive list of men’s and women’s basketball players to NIL deals.
The coffee-maker giant landed deals with multiple star duos for the Keurig Pod Toss Challenge – headlined by North Carolina’s R.J. Davis and Deja Kelly, Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. and Stanford’s Cameron Brink and Hannah Jump. The campaign also includes UConn’s Stephon Castle and Tristen Newton, Arizona’s Caleb Love and Kylan Boswell, Texas’ Madison Booker and Shaylee Gonzales, Gonzaga’s Kayleigh Truong and Kaylynne Truong, and South Carolina’s Bree Hall and Meechie Johnson.
Keurig’s partnership with its roster of athletes coincides the start of both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments. The First Four for the men starts Tuesday night in Dayton, while the women’s First Four begins Wednesday.
For Dickinson and Love, it’s their second NIL deal to be announced ahead of the NCAA tournament. They also joined forces with Kim Kardashian’s company, SKIMs, as part of its all-star promotion this week. In fact, Love is one of the highest-profile men’s basketball players to sign with Keurig. He sits at No. 84 in the On3 NIL 100 – the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.
Keurig capitalizing on March Madness star power
The anticipation continues to grow for this year’s tournament. Both Selection Shows – the men’s on CBS and the women’s on ESPN – set viewership records, according to Sports Media Watch. On the men’s side in particular, it seems like a wide-open tournament given how the Field of 68 shook out.
The women’s tournament, however, could feature more star power, as On3’s Eric Prisbell reported. With household names such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese leading the way – No. 3 and No. 8 in the On3 NIL 100 – this year’s women’s NCAA tournament features plenty of recognizable faces.
Keurig also landed some high-profile women’s basketball players in Brink and Kelly as they gear up for March Madness. They both rank in the Top 20 of the On3 Women’s NIL 100 – Kelly sits at No. 14 while Brink comes in behind her at No. 16.
Brink is a projected top-three pick in the WNBA Draft, coming in as the No. 2 overall selection in ESPN’s Michael Voepel’s latest mock after declaring late last month. Kelly, meanwhile, picked up her third All-ACC selection after leading North Carolina with 16.7 points per game.
On the men’s side, Davis is the highest-ranked player in the On3 NIL 100 to sign with Keurig. He sits at No. 33 after securing a first team All-American honor from the AP, leading North Carolina to a No. 1 seed with his 21.4 points per game. Davis’ former teammate, Love, is farther down the list at No. 84 and came in as an AP third team All-American thanks to 18.1 points per game after transferring from UNC.