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Kansas State Football Star Quarterback Reveals Custom NIL Soft Drink

The Avery Johnson Strawberry Lemonade launches this week via Manhattan-based Bev-Hub and Wildcat NIL collective.

Michael Ehrlich

Oct 26, 2024; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) drops back to pass during the third quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium.
Oct 26, 2024; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson (2) drops back to pass during the third quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. / Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson has kicked off spring practice with a new NIL partnership that should activate the taste buds of Wildcat fans. Through a collaboration between the school's collective Wildcat NIL and the Manhattan-based beverage manufacturer Bev-Hub, the star signal caller is releasing a custom strawberry lemonade beverage.

The thirst-quenching, low-calorie, low-sugar soft drink hits shelves this week at Hy-Vee locally with other stores to carry in the future. It will also be available via the collectives website.

In his sophomore season — and first replacing Ohio State transfer and National Champion Will Howard — Johnson started every game, threw for 2,712 yards and a school-record 25 touchdowns. He added 605 rushing yards and seven touchdowns to his resume, which positions him as one of the top returning players — and dual-threat quarterback — in college football.

“This is an exciting opportunity for me,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t long ago that I was a young athlete in Wichita, Kansas with big dreams. To have the opportunity to create my own personally branded soft drink is really special, and I hope it can serve as an example to young athletes across Kansas and beyond that dreams can absolutely become reality.”

“This unique partnership is a great example of the type of opportunity we seek to create for our student athletes,” said Curry Sexton, managing member of Wildcat NIL. "While this partnership creates an exciting opportunity for Avery, it demonstrates to our other student-athletes and prospective student-athletes the array of NIL opportunities that are possible at K-State. We are excited to bring this drink to our great fans and to fans of Avery Johnson.”

Johnson is one of the top name to expect a major jump in his NIL portfolio. The junior-to-be has already partnered with the likes of UNDRDOG ATHLETIX, Amazon Music, EA Sports, the Roy app, among others.

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Michael Ehrlich
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

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