Colorado's Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, Travis Hunter star in NIL deal for KFC

Kentucky Fried Chicken is going all-in again on Colorado football.

The fast-food chain launched a new social media advertisement with Shedeur and Shilo Sanders and Travis Hunter on Thursday. KFC has previously worked with the Sanders family to promote its Fill Up Box, chicken nuggets and hot and spicy wings.

Now the Sanders brothers are marketing the company’s new Smash’d Bowl. Hunter is also included in the campaign, his first time working with KFC. Described in the ad as the “perfect snack after practice,” the bowl includes mashed potatoes with fries, cheese sauce, bacon crumbles and a three-cheese blend.

The trio signed NIL deals to work with KFC. All repped by SMAC Entertainment and Constance Schwartz-Morini, the Colorado stars have a wide swath of endorsement deals.

The relationship with KFC goes back to Deion Sanders. The Colorado head coach starred in a commercial for the company this past fall with his family. The former Florida State and NFL star turned college football coach also has partnerships with Aflac and California Almonds.

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Colorado readying for Year 2 of Coach Prime

Colorado is coming off of a 4-8 season in Year 1 under Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes started the 2023 season 4-0 with wins over TCU and Nebraska before failing to make a bowl game. Shedeur Sanders threw for 3,230 yards with 27 touchdowns and three interceptions but was sacked 52 times, finishing as the nation’s most-sacked quarterback.

The Buffaloes have prioritized the transfer portal again this offseason, adding six players on the offensive line to protect Sanders: Amari Ward, Phillip Houston, Justin Mayers, Yakiri Walker, Tyler Johnson and Kahlil Benson.

Hunter will again be expected to play both ways. He finished the regular season playing 1,032 total snaps, finishing with 57 catches for 721 yards and five touchdowns. On the defensive of the ball, he tallied 30 total tackles with three interceptions.

He’s joined in the secondary by Shilo Sanders, who was first in the Pac-12 and No. 2 in the country in forced fumbles with four. The defensive back also was tied for first in solo tackles in the Pac-12 with 55.

Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, Travis Hunter continue to find NIL success

While all three were key players on the field for Colorado in 2023, each has built massive brands primed for the NIL Era.

Shedeur Sanders has been cashing in on NIL since 2021. He’s signed with Gatorade, launched his own barbecue sauce, been tabbed as the BRADY brand’s long-term ambassador and promoted Mercedes Benz. His On3 NIL valuation of $4.7 million is the top-ranked in college football and No. 2 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

Sanders has also worked with brands like Google, Topps, Urban Outfitters and Wendy’s. His brother, Shilo, has an On3 NIL Valuation of $1.1 million. The valuation ranks in the top 15 of college football. He has more than 1.3 million followers and signed a long-term deal with the apparel brand Actively Black last October. He’s also opted-in to the EA Sports College Football 25 video game.

Travis Hunter has found similar success. Hs social media following now sits at more than 2 million. Beyond Instagram, X and TikTok, however, he’s built a major YouTube channel with more than 289,000 subscribers. Past the YouTube success, Hunter has long-term contracts with the Michael Strahan Brand, Actively Black and NXTRND. He’s tapped into his fishing hobby through NIL, inking deals with WaterLand Co., KastKing and Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits. The wide receiver and defensive back also signed with EA Sports College Football 25.

Hunter has a $2.3 million On3 NIL Valuation. The valuation is No. 3 in college football and No. 6 in the On3 NIL 100.

About the On3 NIL Valuation

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.

“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.”

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value