Quinn Ewers, Michael Hawkins star in Dr Pepper NIL campaign ahead of Red River Rivalry

Quinn Ewers and Michael Hawkins are starring in a new social media campaign for Dr Pepper ahead of Saturday’s Red River Rivalry.

The quarterbacks will battle on the field at the Cotton Bowl this weekend as Texas and Oklahoma play in their 120th consecutive meeting. Ewers is expected to make his return after missing two games with an abdominal injury. He inked an NIL partnership with Dr Pepper ahead of the season, starring in the soda brand’s “Fansville” ad campaign.

Hawkins stepped in for Jackson Arnold in the Tennessee game and got his first career start at Auburn two weeks ago. The true freshman was 10 of 15 for 161 yards and rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown. Starring in the new ad for Dr Pepper is the first major NIL deal of his collegiate career.

Ewers and Hawkins are showing off Dr Pepper apparel made by the fashion designer Nigel Xavier. The full financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Dr Pepper has been an NIL spending since the summer of 2021, partnering with DJ Uiagalelei and Caleb Williams in recent years. Ewers got tabbed in August to start in the “Fansville” campaign, starring in commercials circling around sign-stealing and the expanded College Football Playoff.

“As we mark Dr Pepper’s 10^th anniversary of becoming the official sponsor of the College Football Playoffs, we welcome the new changes energizing the game, as it provides us with even greater opportunities to engage with both new and long-term fans, celebrating new beginnings while embracing the traditions of fandom together,” Dr Pepper’s chief marketing officer Andrew Springate previously said about the company’s investment in college sports.

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A post shared by Mike Hawkins Jr. (@m.i.k.e.y_jr)

Quinn Ewers, Michael Hawkins building NIL brands

Ewers has been one of the biggest winners of the NIL Era. The Texas quarterback most recently inked a six-figure NIL deal with Rhoback. He also landed a deal with Nicholas Air in April. The deal calls for Ewers to have hours using the fleet of private jets for travel, training and philanthropy. He also launched a partnership with Metabillia last year to create digital collectibles for fans. The agreement was in the seven-figure range. Ewers is on the cover of EA Sports College Football 25, a deal valued at over $200,000.

Quinn Ewers holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $2.1 million, which is No. 5 in the college football NIL rankings. His valuation is No. 6  in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and de facto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

Hawkins is just starting to see his brand value grow as he’s front and center of the Oklahoma offense. The former four-star recruit has seen his Instagram following grow to more than 22,000. Signing with Dr Pepper is his first major foray into NIL.

“Despite what some fans and media believe, there is not an unlimited amount of money being deployed to manage rosters,” said Shannon Terry, the founder and CEO of On3. “Any model – whether it’s today’s broken NCAA ‘student-athlete’ construct or media rights sharing through employment, which is almost a certainty in the near future – demands efficiency based on the athlete and school knowing the athlete’s respective market value.”

The On3 NIL Valuation is calculated by combining Roster Value and personal NIL. 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. NIL in an athlete’s name, image and likeness and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.

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