Jordan Hawkins uses Dunkin' NIL deal to give back to UConn students

Entering this season, Jordan Hawkins was viewed by scouts as a possible first-round draft pick after a strong freshman season.

The last two weeks have produced plenty of tape for NBA front offices to look at. The UConn shooting guard has helped the Huskies reach their first Final Four since 2014. They’ve convincingly made it to Houston, too, winning each tournament game by double-digits.

Hawkins is the team’s second leading scorer entering Saturday’s game with Miami, averaging 16.8 points and shooting more than 38 percent from beyond the arc. He’s also a strong ball handler who is shooting 88 percent from the free-throw. He’s one of the top players on this UConn team, which is why Dunkin’ signed an NIL deal with him before the start of March Madness.

That hasn’t stopped the coffee brand from ramping up its activations with the 6-foot-5, 170-pound shooting guard. Before UConn traveled to the Final Four, Hawkins spent some time handing out doughnuts and Dunkin’ gift cards to students around campus.

The coffee chain has not hesitated to pour marketing dollars into name, image and likeness campaigns. Back in December, Dunkin’ signed agreements with the entire Northwestern field hockey team, plus athletes from 23 other institutions. Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy also secured his own Dunkin’ order at select metro Detroit locations of the chain coffee and breakfast shop in September.

The terms of Hawkins’ agreement with Dunkin’ was not disclosed. The partnership was executed through Opendorse. He is represented by Creative Artists Agency.

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Jordan Hawkins’ On3 NIL Valuation

The UConn star has a $375,000 On3 NIL Valuation entering the Final Four. Hawkins has seen his valuation grow by more than $250,000 in the last 10 weeks. His evaluation ranks in the top 25 of college basketball.

He has also seen his social media following spike in the past couple weeks, jumping up to more than 13,000 followers on Instagram. Hawkins’ valuation is No. 3 in UConn athletics, trailing just his teammate Adama Sanogo ($773K) and women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers ($754K).

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.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career.

The On3 NIL Valuation accounts for an athlete’s roster value and brand value. 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. Brand value factors in an athlete’s personal brand and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.