Kansas State's Markquis Nowell inks NIL deal with Wingstop

Markquis Nowell cemented his legacy as a March Madness hero a week ago.

The Kansas State point guard’s 19 assists against Michigan State in the Sweet 16 broke the NCAA single-game tournament record. He also added 20 points to help the Wildcats reach the regional final, where they eventually lost to Florida Atlantic.

Nowell still had his moment in the spotlight in New York City. His social media following has exploded, leading to a flood of Instagram followers which currently sits north of 117,000. He announced his plans to enter the NBA Draft on Wednesday. Now he has an NIL deal with the fast-food chain Wingstop.

A source with knowledge of Nowell’s NIL activity said more deals are set to be announced in the coming days. Brands have been swarming to align with the Kansas State star.

In an Instagram video, Nowell described the wing restaurant as one of his favorite places to eat. Wingstop has been extremely active in the NIL space, signing numerous deals with athletes in the last 21 months.

“I always dreamt of being a brand ambassador for my favorite fast food restaurant and now that I get to do it is a testimony to god’s work and hard work,” he wrote. “If you haven’t, check out Wingstop’s new jam flavors.”

This isn’t Nowell’s first NIL activation. The point guard had a deal with Robbins Motor Company and also his own T-shirt through a partnership with Charlie Hustle, which was facilitated by Wildcat NIL. A third-team All-American by the Associated Press, he also earned all-Big 12 honors after averaging 16 points and leading the conference in assists. The former Little Rock transfer is projected to go undrafted in May’s NBA Draft.

Markquis Nowell’s On3 NIL Valuation

The Kansas State star has a $598,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks in the top 10 of college basketball. His valuation is only on the rise, too, with a growing social media following.

Markquis Nowell’s valuation is No. 71 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. His evaluation is the highest of any Kansas State athlete.

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.