The Nuance of Jack Gohlke Cashing In on March Madness NIL Deals

The unequivocal star of the first weekend of March Madness was Jack Gohlke who hit 10 three pointers in spectacular fashion to led 14 seed Oakland to an upset of 3 seed Kentucky. 

Gohlke made more headlines on the day off between Oakland’s first and second round game.

Front Office Sports noted that Gohlke’s Instagram following grew from ~500 followers on Wednesday to 21k on Friday to 44k before Oakland’s second round overtime loss against NC State.  He ended the weekend at more than 63k followers.

On Friday and Saturday, Gohlke was busy cashing in on his newfound fame with NIL deals.

On Friday he:

- launched Official Jack Gohlke NIL Merchandise at nil.store/jack where visitors can purchase apparel starting at $39.99.

- partnered with BarstoolU with more merchandise with a caption that Gohlke would get 80% of the net proceeds.

- partnered with TurboTax to remind followers about upcoming tax season.

On Saturday he partnered with OOFOS Recovery footwear and posted the video just hours before Oakland's game against NC State.

On Sunday, the day after the round of 32 loss (in overtime), he partnered with Buffalo Wild Wings for its overtime promotion.

 A few things stood out about this sequence of events:

• How quickly after Thursday’s heroic performance that nil.store and BarstoolU was able to turn around merchandise for purchase, along with the creativity of a shirt that displayed his shot chart in which he hit 10 three-pointers
• Although the OOFOS and TurboTax content are posted on two separate days, Gohlke is wearing the exact same clothing and donning a Nike logo on both his short and shorts (and presumably shot the content at the same time)
• The TurboTax content was clearly shot in the ballroom of the hotel that Oakland was staying at
• Many of the comments on the above posts focus on Gohlke clearly cashing in on NIL instead of the game heroics or the actual brand product 
• The caption of Gohlke's post with Buffalo Wild Wings was:

  Sent the game to overtime so that meant more great times @bwwings AND six free boneless wings. This March Madness when games go to overtime, order using Blazin’ Rewards online or at the bar before the last game of the day goes into overtime to receive the offer
  #OvertimeDeal #NIL #sponsored.  Offer details at
  buffalowildwings.com/overtime-wingtime

Cynics of NIL may cite that while Gohlke's impressive play in the game against NC State did in fact help lead Oakland to overtime, Oakland ended up losing the game, and it's a unique dynamic that an athlete who just lost a heartbreaking game in overtime is turning around a brand deal somewhat promoting the loss less than 24 hours later.

It’s awesome that Gohlke was able to cash in during what could be the pinnacle of his athletic career.  The timing of all the deals coupled with the gap between Oakland's first and second round games makes one think, if you're the coach of Oakland, and you’re getting ready for the second round game against another double digit seed in NC State, how do you feel when your star player has to allocate time during the preparation day to go and shoot NIL content?  Historically that star player in an upset may have additional media obligations (e.g. Gohlke appeared on Sportscenter with Scott Van Pelt on Thursday night but time sensitive NIL opportunities are something that one couldn't have fathomed just a few years ago.

In this example it's very reasonable to believe no one is in the wrong.

Gohlke is capitalizing on a time sensitive moment to make money that didn't exist for him just 48 hours before.

Oakland is capitalizing by being in the news the more that Gohlke is in the news.

The partner brands are capitalizing on Gohlke's social following growing by the minute

The NCAA is capitalizing by this star of March Madness gaining even more fame because of the NIL deals.

This is the new reality of the NIL landscape we live in which will only be more pronounced after earlier this month a judge granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia. The antitrust suit challenged NCAA rules against recruiting inducements, saying they inhibit athletes' ability to cash in on their celebrity and fame. 

If you're a student athlete and want to learn more about how you can capitalize on NIL deals, be well versed in NIL talks and be a pro in NIL, check out our NIL Certification Course.