How NC State’s NCAA Tournament run has increased NIL revenue for collective, players

DALLAS — The past two weeks have been a whirlwind for NC State graduate forward DJ Burns. The Wolfpack has won seven straight games en route to the ACC Tournament title and a Sweet 16 appearance, and he has been the face of it all.  Burns has popped up all over the national media landscape, including appearances on The Rich Eisen Show and Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take. The Wolfpack’s smiling big man is easy to market, too, and he has seen that come to fruition during the red and white’s run.  The Rock Hill, S.C., native has been inundated with NIL opportunities over the past 14 days, and it has been an experience he would not trade for the world. But Burns, who had several NIL deals heading into the postseason with various North Carolina companies, laughed when he talked about what his national image has done for him. “People that were turning me down when we shot NIL pitches are now kicking our door in,” Burns said with his gap-toothed smile in his corner locker at American Airlines Center on Thursday afternoon. “It’s a pretty cool feeling to see it turn like that.” Burns is the prime example for what NIL can do in today’s college basketball landscape. He has most recently come out with multiple T-shirts, including one through BreakingT and a pair through Barstool Sports.