Zach Edey Signs with KFC Ahead of 2024 NBA Draft

As the NBA Draft approaches, Zach Edey, the National Player of the Year, signs with KFC and reflects on his college career.

Apr 8, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) controls the ball against Connecticut Huskies center Donovan Clingan (32) during the first half of the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium. / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Zach Edey, Purdue's standout player and the consensus National Player of the Year, is set to enter the 2024 NBA Draft next week. Concluding a stellar college career, Edey led the Boilermakers to their first national championship game appearance since 1969. The 7-foot-4 Canadian is projected to be a mid-first-round pick.

Edey, who is Purdue’s all-time leading scorer, has also signed an endorsement deal with KFC. The first of his commercials debuted during Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. Represented by Priority Sports, Edey’s endorsement potential was limited during college due to his student visa, which restricted him from profiting through U.S. endorsements.

“I hope they change it in the future,” Edey remarked during the Final Four. “I obviously have lost out on a lot of money this year. At the end of the day, it needs to change, for sure. I understand kind of the legal process. It takes a while. It’s not like it’s an NCAA rule. It’s an American law. Anytime you try to go change that, I understand it takes a while. But I do think it needs to change.”

Despite the restrictions, Edey earned some NIL money through deals with Topps, Campus Ink, and the Boilermaker Alliance NIL collective by working internationally. For his KFC commercials, he traveled to Toronto, where he filmed several ads.

In his debut commercial for KFC, Edey promoted the "Taste of KFC" deal, priced at $4.99. KFC has previously collaborated with Colorado’s Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, and Travis Hunter to promote its Fill Up Box, chicken nuggets, and hot and spicy wings. “KFC is something I have really good memories of when I was a kid,” Edey told the Lafayette Journal & Courier. “My family on my mom’s side used to do picnics. One of my aunts would always bring a big bucket of chicken. I’ve always had fond memories of that.”

The NBA Draft will take place on June 26 and 27 in New York City, with the first round held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Edey received an invitation to the green room but chose to watch the draft with his family and former teammates in West Lafayette.

In his final college season, Edey averaged 25.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, shooting 62.3% from the floor. He is projected to potentially join teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Miami Heat. “I think it just comes with kind of realizing who I am,” Edey said at the NBA Draft Combine. “I’m never going to be the wiry seven-foot guy like Kevin Durant. I’m a 7-foot-4, 300-pound guy. I’m built to be in the paint, to carve out space to protect my area. And that’s what I’m gonna keep doing.

“There’s a lot of people in the NBA that do stuff like that. Valančiūnas, Zubac, Steven Adams; guys who had a lot of success in the NBA being those paint presences. I’m going to stick to who I am and I kind of know who I am.”