When the NIL rule went into effect on July 1, 2021, no one knew what to expect. Were college athletes going to sign with big time companies, get multimillion dollar endorsements, be a local sponsor, or become the next TikTok star? Fast forward six weeks and we’ve seen all of these things happen and more. On top of the list of college athletes taking advantage of the NIL rule is Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei has already partnered with fast food restaurant, Bojangles, NFT Platform, Candy Digital, and now the soft drink company, Dr Pepper Keurig Group.
On Aug. 11, it was revealed that Uiagalelei signed a contract with Dr Pepper to be a part of their ad campaign for their fictional football town, “Fansville.” Although the contract details were not revealed, it is safe to say Uiagalelei will earn a substantial amount of money from the multibillion dollar company. The commercial was recorded in a nearby hotel lobby in Clemson, South Carolina. Uiagalelei acted as himself in the commercial while wearing a plain orange jersey which excluded the Clemson logo on it. The reason why the logo is not on the jersey is because Clemson follows the South Carolina NIL laws which prohibit athletes from using school logos in NIL deals.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Uiagalelei mentioned that it was a quick decision for him to be a part of the ad campaign. Uiagalelei said, “When they reached out to me, it was a no-brainer.” Furthermore, he touched on the unexpected part of acting: makeup. “They put makeup on me. I had never put on makeup before. That was crazy,” Uiagalelei said.
Not only does this deal help Uiagalelei be the face of “Fansville,” but it also helps cement himself as the face of college football. Since 2019, “Fansville,” has been a staple of the college football community with new commercials airing every college football season. These commercials revealed new stories about this fictional town while promoting Dr Pepper. With Uiagaelei being the first and possibly only current college football athlete in the commercials, he will become an even more well known name amongst the college football community. So even when he isn’t on the big screen for Clemson, fans will still be able to watch him, only this time, drink an ice cold bottle of Dr Pepper.
