LOOK: 'Popeyes meme kid,' DII lineman signs NIL deal with Popeyes

Whether you know him by name, the meme he became synonymous with — “The Popeyes meme kid” — or just recognize the old image of a kid at Popeyes, Dieunerst Collin is cashing in on the fact that you do. Once a meme and now a college football player at Division II Lake Erie College, Collin has inked an NIL deal with Popeyes.

A 6-foot-1, 330-pound freshman lineman, he’s not quite the round-faced kid in a yellow shirt with a styrofoam cup anymore. But one look at Collin now and a glance at the original meme is enough to confirm the likeness.

The terms of the deal aren’t known, but parlaying years-old internet fame into a licensing deal for a fast food chain is a quintessential college football tale.

BREAKING: Popeyes has signed Dieunerst Collin — "The Popeyes meme kid" — to an NIL deal.

Collin is now a freshman offensive lineman at D-II Lake Erie College. pic.twitter.com/xC7UmuJLvY

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 11, 2023

Oklahoma’s General Booty uses NIL for The General’s Crimson Cream

On3’s Andy Wittry reported on General Booty’s latest venture.

Oklahoma quarterback General Booty and the Sooners-focused NIL collective Crimson and Cream have released The General’s Crimson Cream, a high-end body cream produced by the Oklahoma City-based company Prohibition Soap. Booty announced the product with a humorous video on Instagram.

The activation is a rare one in the NIL landscape as it involves an original, non-apparel product that uses an athlete’s NIL rights.

The General’s Crimson Cream, which features a blood orange margarita scent, retails for $39.99. Booty will contribute a portion of the proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project.

A limited number of units is available for the initial release but the parties involved could make more if demand warrants it. Crimson and Cream is one of roughly 20 collectives nationally supported by the agency Student Athlete NIL (SANIL).

Booty said The General’s Crimson Cream originates from a general misunderstanding when he announced he had signed with Crimson and Cream.

“I joined Crimson and Cream and when I went public with it on my social media, I guess people had some other ideas and thought that was a product,” Booty said in a phone interview. “So we had some people reach out asking for it.”

Booty, SANIL co-founder and CEO Jason Belzer and SANIL account manager Alyssa Slayton then talked about turning the byproduct of an online misunderstanding into an actual product.

“We’re like, ‘We might as well come out with the Crimson Cream,’” Booty recalled.