Powerade is rolling out its first ad featuring USC men’s basketball guard Isaiah Collier and LSU women’s basketball guard Flau’jae Johnson, who joined the company as NIL ambassadors last month. The spot, via OpenX, is titled “March Doesn’t Start in March.” It will air nationally for the first time during CBS’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday, March 17.
Powerade’s forays into collegiate athletics and sponsorship deals include 2024 NFL draft prospects Jayden Daniels and Jared Verse. Those two were part of an advertising campaign last fall at the start of the college football season.
Collier is increasing his footprint in the commercial space. We wrote several days ago about Collier’s teammate, D.J. Rodman, signing an NIL deal. Athletes everywhere are capitalizing on opportunities to make money and put themselves into the public sphere in ways which were not available to athletes merely 10 years ago. So much has changed in the past decade, and the NCAA’s losing battle against NIL regulations will only create a more open and robust world of dealmaking with college athletes who deserve these chances on the open market.
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