Dunkin' launches national NIL campaign across 24 institutions

Dunkin’ is sending waves through NIL deals.

The nationwide coffee chain has signed NIL agreements with the entire Northwestern field hockey team, plus athletes from 23 other institutions. There are 48 athletes in total, including 25 from Northwestern. Learfield played a role in bringing the deals to athletes, along with the assistance of its marketplace partner Opendorse.

Because Learfield is the the media rights holder for these schools, athletes will execute their deals while wearing their school colors and logos. This is an example of brand tapping into a major swath of talent while monetizing an institution’s IP.

Athletes involved in the deal include Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, North Carolina star forward Armando Bacot and South Carolina guard Zia Cooke.

As part of the agreement, athletes will participate in the Team Dunkin’ campaign across social media.

“Partnering and being part of Team Dunkin’ is the perfect fit for me,” Cooke said in a release. “I’ve been a fan of the brand for a long time, so I’m thrilled to be teaming up with other accomplished athletes to represent Team Dunkin’. I’m excited to show everyone how I get my coffee fix and highlight some of my favorite items.”

Learfield does not represent the athletes, but it does continue to play an integral part in delivering NIL opportunities to athletes. Recently, it helped ZIPS Car Wash launch its “Car Wash Convos” series with 12 athletes from three schools.

“We’re proud to work with Dunkin’ on this innovative partnership designed to create rich and differentiated engagement in the college space,” Learfield chief revenue officer John Brody said. “This was a true collaboration built to tie together the passion of college sports fans with the voice of the student-athlete and the schools, ultimately delivering for Dunkin’ a platform that is authentic and has never been done before at this scale in the college ecosystem. Our proprietary digital platform, Fan365, also allows for a customized approach to reaching Dunkin’ consumers across the country.”

This is not the first foray into NIL for the nationally recognized brand. Back in September, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy secured his own Dunkin’ order at select Metro Detroit locations of the chain coffee and breakfast shop.  Fifteen student-athletes at Pitt participated in a campaign with Dunkin’ in October, too.

Athletes involved in Dunkin’ NIL campaign

Here is the full list of athletes who have signed deals with Dunkin’:

Name	School	Sport
Vanessa DiNardo	Cincinnati	Soccer
Ice Brady	UConn	Basketball
Zay Flowers	Boston College	Football
Savannah Perry	Colorado	Volleyball
Matthew Boling	Georgia	Track & Field
Kenadi Brown	New Hampshire	Gymnastics
Devin Carter	Providence	Basketball
Ishmael Leggett	Rhode Island	Basketball
Zia Cooke	South Carolina	Basketball
Joseph Girard III	Syracuse	Basketball
Jackson Pruitt	Temple	Football
Ashley Chevalier	Texas Tech	Basketball
Cam Morrissey	Vermont	Hockey
Cara Lewis	Virginia Tech	Volleyball
Jada Moore	Florida Atlantic	Basketball
Jhenna Gabriel	UNLV	Volleyball
Devyn Flaherty	Florida State	Softball
Armando Bacot	North Carolina	Basketball
Jack Myers	Ohio State	Lacrosse
Jahvon Quinerly	Alabama	Basketball
Maya Nnaji	Arizona	Basketball
Hendon Hooker	Tennessee	Football
Matt Koopman	UMass	Hockey