Buffalo Wild Wings Signs NIL Deals with NCAA Tournament Overtime Stars

Athletes who send March Madness games into overtime trigger free wings.

Michael Ehrlich | Mar 28, 2024

Mar 9, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Zakiyah Franklin (15) shoots the ball while / Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports

In the first two rounds of the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament, we’ve seen our fair share of overtime thrillers and now in the NIL era, athletes can capitalize in real-time from their clutch performances.

For the third tournament in a row, Buffalo Wild Wings has activated to quickly partner with March Madness stars. So far, the brand has signed NIL deals with six athletes who have sent games into overtime and triggered the official sports bar of March Madness’ Overtime Wingtime offering.

Every time a tournament game goes into OT, fans can enjoy free wings in any of Buffalo Wild Wings’ 26 sauces and seasonings, including new limited-edition Honey Sriracha and returning favorite Honey Garlic sauces.

Headlined by breakout star Jack Gohlke of Oakland - who took the country’s brackets by storm in the first two rounds - Buffalo Wild Wings NIL roster so far, includes:

Grambling State’s Jimel Cofer
Northwestern’s Brooks Barnhizer
Kansas’ Zakiyah Franklin
Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman
Iowa State’s Addy Brown

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A post shared by Jack Gohlke (@jgohlke34)

Buffalo Wild Wings’ NIL deals include financial compensation, branded merchandise and a lot of wings. The brand works with their local franchises to deliver everything to the athlete as quickly as possible after overtime games and signing the deals.

Expect the brand to continue to collaborate with overtime heroes - win or lose - throughout the rest of the tournament. Both the men’s and women’s Sweet 16 rounds tip off on Thursday.

Published Mar 28, 2024

MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com