USC's Caleb Williams stars in Wendy's commercial with Matt Leinart thanks to NIL

Caleb Williams continues to raise the bar for what college athletes can accomplish in the NIL Era.

The USC quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner has become one of the most recognizable names in college football. He’s parlayed the on-field success into a slew of endorsement opportunities.

Now he’s starring in a new commercial for Wendy’s with former USC quarterback Matt Leinart. The fast-food chain has been a prominent college football sponsor since FOX launched its “Big Noon Kickoff” show in 2019. Since the TV network positioned its top game in the window, it has outperformed ABC in the slot with 6.2 million viewers to 4.3 million.

Throughout the years, FOX personalities like Rob Stone and Reggie Bush have been featured in Wendy’s advertisements. Leinart is a staple of the crew, too, and he is now appearing in the 30-second spot with the current USC starting quarterback.

Leinart has built a close relationship with Williams since the quarterback transferred to Los Angeles in February 2022. They are in business together, too. Hall of GOATs was originally founded as an NFT venture but has pivoted to an arcade-style game, with plans to release in early 2024. The free-to-play college football game is unity-based and will target PCs at launch. Future plans entail making the game accessible to mobile and console devices.

In the commercial for Wendy’s, Williams transfers to the fast-food chain to promote the loaded nacho cheeseburger. The video features the quarterback at a press conference and taking a team photo with the burger.

Towards the end of the clip, Leinart slides into a booth next to Williams and says, “This table has room for two quarterbacks!” A Wendy’s employee quips back, asking who the national title-winning quarterback is.

Wendy’s has spent dollars in the NIL space before, as local franchise owners signed five Kansas athletes this past December.

Caleb Williams’ ever-growing NIL brand

The USC quarterback saw what winning the Heisman in the NIL Era can mean for an athlete. He’s back in Los Angeles for at least one more season, too. In his first year on the West Coast, he threw for 4,537 yards with a 66.6% completion percentage. He was picked off just five times in 2022 while passing for 42 touchdowns.

In Saturday’s win over San Jose State, he passed for 278 yards while tossing four touchdowns. Days before, he was tapped as the leading face of Dr Pepper’s Fansville campaign. He’s also used his platform to establish the Caleb Cares Foundation, which focuses on anti-bullying, youth empowerment and mental health awareness. Through his NIL deal with Dr Pepper, the two will partner this season for an activation benefiting Caleb Cares.

Williams has inked notable NIL agreements with Athletic Brewing Company, Fanatics, Neutrogena, AT&T, Beats by Dre, PlayStation, United Airlines and AC+ION Water. Since December, his social media has soared to more than 300,000 followers. The quarterback has embraced his love for fashion, too. He wore a Gucci suit to the Heisman ceremony. Plus, Williams was in the Hugo Boss show during his spring break in March.

He’ll be next to Tim Tebow and Baker Mayfield in Nissan’s Heisman House ads this fall, similar to Bryce Young. His $2.6 million On3 NIL Valuation ranks No. 2 in college football, trailing only Arch Manning‘s $2.9 million valuation. Williams also sits at No. 4 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

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