Providence's Ticket Gaines signs unique NIL deal with StubHub

As Providence prepared for this week’s Big East Tournament, StubHub signed a big-Ticket Friars player to a unique NIL deal.

Ticket Gaines joined forces with the ticket exchange company as a StubHub Partner just in time for the postseason. The former Tennessee and George Mason guard has been a consistent piece for Providence this year, and he now has a fun NIL deal as the conference tournament gets underway at Madison Square Garden.

“I don’t know if you’ve seen StubHub @ me on X last night, but I think it’s about time they found me,” Gaines said in a video promoting the deal. “I’m excited to announce that we will be working together. I’m an official StubHub ticket partner. We’re gonna work together on some cool giveaways and some cool promotions. So, stay tuned.”

"They found me! I'm pleased to announce that I am an official @StubHub partner now. Follow me for some cool stuff coming up and buy your tickets with the link in my bio!
This is going to be fun. #findyourTicket 🎟️ #stubhubpartner" pic.twitter.com/ntOcD4hzsX

— Ticket “Hollywood” Gaines (@TheRealTick3t) March 12, 2024

StubHub teased a partnership with Gaines with a post on X (formerly Twitter) earlier this week. The company wrote it had just found out there was a player with the first name Ticket, and it was having an “identity crisis” before Gaines announced the deal Tuesday night.

Gaines’ deal with StubHub is his second facilitated by the Friar Family Collective, the Providence-focused NIL collective. Last month, the organization released T-shirts featuring the mask he started wearing, and they were re-released earlier this month before the conference tournament.

Ticket Gaines cashing in ahead of first Big East tournament

Gaines started his career at Tennessee in 2019, playing two years with the Volunteers before entering the transfer portal. That’s when he committed to Kim English at George Mason and immediately made an impact.

In his first year with the Patriots, Gaines averaged 10.2 points and a career-high 8.1 rebounds in 30 games, including 29 starts. He dealt with some injury issues in 2022-23, appearing in 23 games, but still averaged 7.3 points and 6.1 rebounds. But after English left to replace Ed Cooley at Providence, Gaines again entered the portal as a graduate transfer and handled the transition to the Big East well.

Through 33 starts this year, Gaines is averaging 9.8 points, which ranks fourth on the Friars roster. He had a solid performance in the Big East tournament opener against Georgetown, pouring in 15 points as Providence cruised to the 74-56 victory against the Hoyas.

The Friars will now turn around and get ready to take on the tournament’s No. 2 seed, Creighton, at 7 p.m. ET Thursday.