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Kansas State QB Avery Johnson releases custom soft drink in partnership with Wildcat NIL

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•03/24/25•

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Kansas State QB Avery Johnson
© Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

As spring ball gets underway at Kansas State, Avery Johnson will look to build on his first full season as starting quarterback. He helped the Wildcats to a 9-4 record and a Rate Bowl victory over Rutgers as a sophomore while his On3 NIL Valuation soared to $1.8 million.

With his junior year on the horizon, Johnson is entering a unique NIL partnership with Wildcat NIL. The K-State focused collective is releasing a custom strawberry lemonade this week.

The Avery Johnson Strawberry Lemonade drops Tuesday through a partnership between Wildcat NIL and Manhattan-based Bev-Hub. A low-calorie, low-sugar soft drink, it will be available at the Hy-Vee in Manhattan on Tuesday. Other stores will carry it in the future, and the drink will soon be available for direct purchase on the Wildcat NIL website.

“This is an exciting opportunity for me,” Johnson said in a statement. “It wasn’t long ago that I was a young athlete in Wichita, Kansas with big dreams. To have the opportunity to create my own personally branded soft drink is really special, and I hope it can serve as an example to young athletes across Kansas and beyond that dreams can absolutely become reality.”

Bev-Hub’s focus has traditionally been coffee, founder and CEO Dan McDonald said. But it’s now working with Wildcat NIL to create Johnson’s strawberry lemonade.

“This unique partnership is a great example of the type of opportunity we seek to create for our student athletes,” said Curry Sexton, Wildcat NIL managing member, in a statement. While this partnership creates an exciting opportunity for Avery, it demonstrates to our other student-athletes and prospective student-athletes the array of NIL opportunities that are possible at K-State. We are excited to bring this drink to our great fans and to fans of Avery Johnson.”

Avery Johnson ready for leap forward on, off field in 2025

As a sophomore in 2024, Johnson showcased his dual-threat ability. He threw for 2,712 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 605 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. It marked his first full season as the starter following Will Howard’s departure, and he’ll look to build on those numbers in 2025.

Off the field, Johnson is also primed for NIL success as a junior. His $1.8 million On3 NIL Valuation ranks No. 24 in the college football NIL rankings and No. 29 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and de facto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

The strawberry lemonade marks Johnson’s latest partnership with Wildcat NIL. He previously joined forces with the collective ahead of Big 12 football media days last year and was part of an agreement with WTC Fiber.