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Michigan guard Adrien Nuñez morphs social media following into NIL stardom

On3 imageby: Trevor Ritchie04/12/22ritchietmr
Adrien Nunez
Getty

Michigan guard Adrien Nuñez immediately turned his focus to social media when he realized NIL would inevitably become a reality in 2020. In less than two years, the 22-year-old influencer has one of the highest earning potentials in college basketball. 

Despite averaging less than five minutes and one point per game in his four years with Michigan, Nuñez’s social media following has landed him sponsorships with brands such as Celsius, Spotify, CashApp, SoFi, Amazon and others.

Considering he’s built a fanbase of 207k on Instagram and 3.3 million on TikTok, his overwhelming NIL success shouldn’t come as much of a shock. Even Nuñez acknowledges the marketplace wasn’t as concerned with his athletic performance at Michigan as long as he still garnered attention off the court. 

“These companies, they’re valuing your audience.” Nuñez told Yahoo! Finance. “A couple companies will care about what you do on the court, but it’s really about the numbers you provide. So with me, it’s just the accounts that I have, they have the follower count that these companies are looking for paired with the basketball. That’s really the biggest thing. I feel like they’re not too worried about what’s happening on the court. It’s really how you can benefit them off the court.”

In August 2021, ESPN named Nuñez and his girlfriend Carson Roney, who doubles as a TikTok star herself, two of the top 10 most marketable players in college basketball. Between the duo’s dancing, hoops content, fan engagement and of course advertisement, they’ve proven to be just that. Nuñez and Roney have over 7.8 million followers combined on Instagram and TikTok alone, and their internet fame continues to grow by the day. 

“It feels like the wild, wild west,” Nuñez added. “A lot of guys don’t really know how to navigate this world, but super excited to be able to profit off our social media accounts and other things like that. It’s super exciting.”

In such a complicated world, the key to social media success is simple according to Nuñez.

“Be yourself, because that’s what people are going to gravitate to.”

Michigan social media star gets advice from Outshine Founder and CEO Barbara Jones

“I think it’s an exciting moment, but also it is a whole new area,” Jones explained to Yahoo! Finance. “It is business, and I think it needs to be looked at seriously. There’s a lot of fun, a lot of opportunities, but as with anything that’s new, there’s also a lot of education that needs to happen. I’ve worked with creators for years, and the last thing you want is for anybody to be taken advantage of. It’s everything from well-meaning brands but also some of the legal contracts, exclusivities and all those things can get a little bit complicated. So, part of it is education and making sure you’re partnering with the right people.”

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