San Diego State's Matt Bradley inks NIL deal with Caktus AI

Matt Bradley has seen his his marketability soar throughout March Madness.

The San Diego State guard is his team’s leading scorer. He dropped 18 points in the Final Four, leading the Aztecs to their first national title game appearance.

Now he has added an NIL deal with Caktus AI, the company’s co-founder Harrison Leonard told On3 on Monday night. The artificial intelligence has become an agressive spender in the name, image and likeness space, striking partnerships with LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne and Miami basketball’s Cavinder twins.

Following San Diego State’s win over Florida Atlantic, Bradley was asked how he’s managed school with athletics during the NCAA tournament. A senior majoring in interdisciplinary studies, he mentioned how Caktus AI has assisted. Leonard said Caktus AI asked Bradley to promote the brand in a media setting.

“Yeah, it’s been the longest month I’ve been apart of,” Bradley said. “Every day I dedicate to being better as a player, as a teammate but off the court, we definitely have the resources to get us better in the classroom. We have tutors here, we have some free time to do whatever I got to do. Caktus AI comes through clutch when I’m getting organized. It’s hard, but it’s manageable.”

Glacier Marketing Group facilitated the deal.

Leonard, a former Notre Dame kicker, and Michigan engineering grad Tao Zhang, founded Caktus in May 2022. The brand has described itself as a way for students to spend less time working on “meaningless writing assignments.” Leonard said the company has placed an emphasis on marketing in college athletics, reinvesting a notable portion of its profits into NIL.

There’s little question the marketing moves have caused disruption. Ethics questions surrounding the use of AI in an educational environment popped up following Dunne’s TikTok. LSU even released a statement warning the tool could result in academic misconduct.

Since Dunne’s TikTok went live at the end of February, Caktus has seen a serious uptick in sign ups and website activity. Bradley has become the latest athlete to partner with the brand.

Matt Bradley’s On3 NIL Valuation

Glacier confirmed to On3 that Bradley has seen his Instagram grow 130% in the past month. The San Diego State star has also received product packages from Oakley, Sprayground and Cuts.

The former Cal transfer holds a $327,000 On3 NIL Valuation.

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 calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.