NIL Deals of the Week: Buffalo Wild Wings releases All-Sauce team, Gradey Dick launches 'Big Energy' T-shirt

The creativity behind NIL campaigns never ceases to amaze.

This week, former Cincinnati star and current New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner formed the All-Sauce Team in partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings. As part of the agreement, eight football players were able to sign NIL deals.

And Kansas guard Gradey Dick launched his own “Big Energy” T-shirt. Arguably the top freshman in the nation continues to build an impressive resume off the court.

As a reminder, feel free to submit info on your NIL deal to On3. You can send an email to [email protected] or reach out via DM or comment on Twitter to @On3NIL or @deals_nil. Direct messages are open, too, on the @On3NIL Instagram account.

Let’s get to the deals that highlighted this week in NIL.

Sauce Gardner, Buffalo Wild Wings ink NIL deals with All-Sauce Team

Throughout the first year and the change of NIL, innovative campaigns have launched with a handful of brands. Degree has come out with two iterations of its Breaking Limits NIL team. Reese’s announced deals with 12 football players across the country with the last name of “Reese” this fall.

And now Sauce Gardner is dabbling in the space. The former Cincinnati star had a productive rookie season with New York Jets; he’s a finalist for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

On Tuesday, Gardner partnered with Buffalo Wild Wings to unveil the “first-ever All-Sauce team.” As part of the agreement, Buffalo Wild Wings signed deals with eight college football players who have the “sauciest names in college football.”

The players involved in the NIL deal:

• Michigan State long-snapper Hank Pepper
• Arizona receiver Boobie Curry
• Edward Waters running back Gregory Mango
• Southwest Minnesota State receiver Albert Lemon
• South Carolina EDGE Hot Rod Fitten
• Iowa State offensive lineman Dodge Sauser
• LSU defensive back Major Burns
• Florida receiver Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman

Coming up with these creative ad campaigns only helps out brands and athletes. While the companies get exposure for the marketing ideas, athletes are able to generate revenue from their NIL.

KJ Jefferson, Raheim Sanders sign with ONEArkansas NIL

Roster retention has become a driving theme at Power Five NIL collectives, trying to hold off Transfer Portal suitors. Most collectives across the college football landscape have announced NIL deals with their program’s star players in the past few months, almost making clear the athletes will be returning.

ONEArkansas NIL has become the latest collective to follow suit. The Arkansas-focused NIL collective announced partnerships with quarterback KJ Jefferson and running back Raheim Sanders this past Friday.

Launched this past August, ONEArkansas NIL was started by Marvin Caston, a former Razorback football player and Senior Director of Development at the Razorback Foundation. While the collective does not explicitly say it’s 501(c)(3) exempt, the collective claims donations are tax-deductible.

A two-year starter, Jefferson threw for 2,648 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2022. He added nine rushing touchdowns, too. After speculation the quarterback could leave for the NFL draft or Transfer Portal, he decided to return for another season. He holds a $609,000 On3 NIL Valuation.

Sanders ranked 13th in the nation this past season, rushing for 1,443 yards and averaging 6.5 yards per carry. The tailback finished with 12 total touchdowns on the season. Sanders has a $334,000 On3 NIL Valuation.

Haley Jones launches podcast with The Players’ Tribune

Haley Jones has quickly become one of the most recognized players in college basketball.

The Stanford basketball player won her first national championship in 2021. She was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year a year ago, voted on by coaches.

With the success has come the opportunity to capitalize off the court. Easing her way into name, image and likeness, she has agreed on signature deals with Nike, Beats by Dre, SoFi and Epic Games. The senior also held her own basketball camp last fall.

Jones announced Wednesday she is branching into a new space. In partnership with The Players’ Tribune, Jones has launched her own podcast called “Sometimes I Hoop.” She becomes the first college athlete to have a podcast with the media platform, which produces first-person stories from athletes.

New episodes will drop every week until Feb. 8, when they will switch to every other week. Jones aims to interact with friends and teammates on the podcast, while also dishing her opinions on the game.

South Carolina forward and reigning National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston is Jones’s first guest on the podcast.

The Stanford basketball star has more than 115,000 social media followers. She also holds an $84,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks in the top 20 of women’s college basketball.

Gradey Dick launches NIL-inspired “Big Energy” T-shirt

Gradey Dick has quickly become one of the most successful athletes in Year 2 of the NIL Era.

The Kansas freshman has inked notable deals with Long McArthur Ford and adidas. A former On3 Consensus five-star recruit and the 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year, Dick has not missed a beat on the court, either. He’s currently averaging 14.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

He now has his own T-shirt. The 6-foot-8, 205-pound guard released a “Big Energy” T-shirt on Monday through Charlie Hustle. The T-shirt idea came from the University Daily Kansan, the KU student newspaper, which featured Dick dunking a ball on the entire front page of the publication with the words “Big Energy” in big bold print.

The design was a hat tip to Latto’s popular “Big Energy,” which was on the Hot 100 for more than 30 weeks last spring. KU fans went nuts for the newspaper, so much so that you can find copies for it on sale on Ebay.

Dick also has a major social media following. With more than 255,000 followers across his social platforms, he has roughly 141,000 solely on Instagram. He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $548,000. His value has quickly climbed throughout the basketball season, including a 182% growth rate over the past 10 weeks.

Hoosiers For Good announces winter 2023 class

Hoosiers for Good announced its third class of athletes on Wednesday.

The Indiana-focused NIL collective initially launched last spring, signing agreements with 14 athletes. One of the first collectives in the country to receive its 501(c)(3) status and earn federal tax exemption, the collective announced another class this past summer focused specifically on men’s and women’s basketball.

Now it has returned with its third iteration, signing deals with 19 Indiana athletes. The collective was also able to introduce five new charities to their initiative, bringing the total to 11 Indiana-based charity partners.

Here is the list of athletes:

• Phillip Glasser, baseball, A Kid Again
• Patrick McDonald, men’s soccer, and Bobby Whalen, baseball, Bloomington Health Foundation
• Jaylin Lucas, football, Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington
• Elle Hillers, volleyball, and Maddie Russin, track and field, Girls on the Run Central Indiana
• Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sara Scalia, women’s basketball, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County
• Sean Wracher, football, Healing Hands
• Tarrin Gilliland, women’s swimming and diving, and Haley Hunter, water polo, Jump IN for Healthy Kids
• Aaron Casey and Zach Carpenter, football, RecycleForce
• Maouloune Goumballe and Brett Bebej, men’s soccer, Stone Belt
• Josh Sales and Cam Camper, football, Stop The Violence Indianapolis
• Noah Pierre and Kahlil Benson, football, Young & Established

The terms of the agreements were not disclosed. The collective’s inaugural class last spring totaled $470,000 in athlete compensation, across 14 NIL deals, according to the IndyStar‘s Zach Osterman.

Honorable Mention

• Virginia transfer Fentrell Cypress has signed with Florida State‘s Battles End collective. The cornerback announced his commitment to the Seminoles in early January.
• The 1890 Initiative, the Nebraska-focused NIL collective, has inked deals with Josh Fleeks, Chief Borders and Billy Kemp.
• Buffs4Life NIL Collective hosted its first event with Colorado football players last Thursday, with running backs Anthony Hankerson and Dylan Edwards, wide receivers Jordyn Tyson, Montana Lemonious-Craig and Jimmy Horn Jr., offensive linemen Van Wells and Tyler Brown, cornerback Nikko Reed, EDGEs Jordan Domineck and Shane Cokes all at the event.
• Michigan State freshman Dillon Tatum signed with Ovation for Men, a fragrance company based out of Atlanta. A year-long partnership, Tatum hopes to see the deal grow into a long-lasting relationship.
• Youth on Course – a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of young people through opportunities on and off the course – partnered with 18 high school and college golfers to “create the largest NIL deal” in the sport.