Cookie Monster is back: Tennessee's Bru McCoy re-signs NIL deal with Moonshine Mountain Cookie
Bru McCoy is back on Rocky Top for his redshirt senior season, and so is his NIL deal with the Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company.
McCoy, one of the top offensive weapons for the Tennessee offense, was announced as Moonshine Mountain Cookie’s “Cookie Monster” for the upcoming season. It’s the fourth consecutive year the cookie maker has run the NIL campaign, working with a star Vol player each time.
The marketing move debuted in the inaugural season of NIL in 2021, with defensive back Alontae Taylor. Cedric Tillman was the Cookie Monster in 2022 and McCoy took over the title in 2023. With him expecting a monster 2024 season, it made sense for him to reclaim the label ahead of the Vols’ first game against Chattanooga on Aug. 31.
As part of the agreement, if McCoy scores a touchdown in any game this year, Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company gives away two free cookies to each customer at any of its three Knoxville locations.
“Vol Nation, I’m back and ready to get you some cookies,” McCoy said in video promoting the NIL deal. “When I score a touchdown in any game this season, you get two – that’s right – two fresh and delicious Moonshine Mountain cookies.
Expectations high for Bru McCoy
The NIL deal might be a sweet treat for Tennessee fans.
Even though he played in only five games because of an injury in 2023, McCoy was a huge part of the Vols’ offense in 2022. McCoy finished his redshirt junior season with 52 catches for 667 yards and four touchdowns. He’s expected to be a critical part of Tennessee’s offense in 2024.
“It’s absolutely insane what that kid did this offseason,” Joey Halzle, Tennessee’s second-year offensive coordinator, said during his media day press conference on Tuesday.
“That ankle injury, we all saw it. But the fact that that kid is out there running full speed and making cuts and making catches and didn’t gain a bunch of weight – the guy still looks like a superhero when he walks around out here – it’s like, this guy’s absolutely insane.”
McCoy started his collegiate career at USC, then transferred to Tennessee. He caught 21 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns with the Trojans during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. McCoy announced in January he would be returning to Tennessee but never let himself look too far down the road. He just knew where he wanted to be by the time the new season rolled around.
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“I don’t want to come back and be less of who I was as a player,” McCoy said at the time. “I want to be better. So my goal is to kind of, in my head, I’m like (thinking) show everyone that this wasn’t a setback, it was just the change. It was adversity that you grow from, and you come back better.”
McCoy has solid On3 NIL Valuation
Bru McCoy has built a solid NIL brand and a huge following while in Knoxville.
Recently he gave back to the community when he hosted a golf tournament to raise money for his Huddle for Hearts Foundation – an initiative to help youth athlete organizations receive automated external defibrillators, a medical device designed to save those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.
McCoy holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $256,000. With more than 41,000 social media followers and the Tennessee brand behind him, his NIL value will only rise with a big season on the field. His Roster Value is also high as one of the top receivers in the SEC.
“Despite what some fans and media believe, there is not an unlimited amount of money being deployed to manage rosters,” said Shannon Terry, the founder and CEO of On3. “Any model – whether it’s today’s broken NCAA ‘student-athlete’ construct or media rights sharing through employment, which is almost a certainty in the near future – demands efficiency based on the athlete and school knowing the athlete’s respective market value.”
The On3 NIL Valuation is calculated by combining Roster Value and personal NIL. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. NIL in an athlete’s name, image and likeness and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.