On Wednesday afternoon just before the NBA Draft, Jarace Walker was being fitted for the last of four suits he’d wear before, during and after the event. The next time he wore this particular garment, he’d be a professional basketball player.
As a tailor pinned back white fabric and took additional measurements, Walker recounted some of the steps he’d toward turning pro since ending his March Madness run with the University of Houston. He’d hired agency WME to handle his business concerns while he focused on the tournament, Draft combine and tryouts. He kept his mind on basketball as agents inked name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with LG and Powerade that helped give him roughly $200,000 in earnings, according to college sports database and digital media company On3.
“Hooping is what’s bringing me all these opportunities, so I’ve just got to stay solid with that, stay consistent and honestly just stay humble through it all,” Walker said. “I feel like it’s kind of easy to get thrown off path, so I’m just staying humble, staying hungry, staying in the gym, working on my game and just let everything else take care of itself.”
In the middle of that preparation, Walker picked up another endorsement when he was named to Philips Norelco’s second-annual Team OneBlade. Attaching its brand to future NBA rookies using its product for their draft-night shave, Philips Norelco teamed Walker with Baylor’s Keyonte George and Kansas’ Gradey Dick.
Leaving Kansas after his freshman year, Dick also signed with WME before inking a NIL deal with Continental Tire. Before the end of his collegiate career, Dick was already starring in ads for Tommy’s Express Car Wash and spots for Kansas Ford dealer Long McArthur “with this cool Mustang.”
While On3 put the value of Dick’s NIL deals at close to $400,000, he considered the experience invaluable as his career advances into the far more lucrative sponsorship opportunities of the NBA.
“It’s definitely prepared me and made me mature in a way,” Dick said. “Going through college, it’s a whole different feel with NIL. Doing that at this age is going to really help propel me into the real world.”
They’ve got next
According to sports analytics platform SponsorUnited, NIL deals for men’s college basketball more than doubled between 2021 and 2022. Only football and women’s college basketball saw greater growth during that time. Thanks to school NIL collectives that help funnel money toward football and men’s basketball programs, men’s basketball receives the second most NIL deals of any college sport despite trailing football, track and field and women’s basketball, softball and gymnastics for the most deals per athlete.
The stakes rise considerably in the NBA. Sponsorship revenue for NBA teams hit $1.4 billion in the 2022-2023 season, a $100 million increase from the season before. According to SponsorUnited, the NBA added 2,430 new brand deals during the season. However, that 3.5% increase in volume is overshadowed by the 10.5% jump in spending across those deals.
“The NBA continues to excel in attracting brands, evident in the record high sponsorship spend and continuous year-over-year spend increase,” said Bob Lynch, SponsorUnited founder and CEO.
For Walker, heading into the NBA feels like resetting his personal brand. While his experience with NIL deals helped him and his team build a professional public presence that brands felt comfortable interacting with, building his NBA career starts the process anew. The Philips Norelco deal is part of that, but eventually, Walker would like to reach a place where brands like Uggs, Netflix, Hulu, Goldfish and Gushers—which he’d interact with anyway and would be a natural endorsement fit—would consider him as a partner.
“It’s like a mutual kind of thing—making sure we’re both on the same page with the same ideas,” Walker said.
Dick, meanwhile, reached a pre-draft deal with Chipotle that resulted in a custom burrito bowl with his name on it. When it came to joining Team OneBlade, Dick already had an idea of what brands fit the brand he’d build for himself at Kansas and what strategy he’d use with brand partners going forward.
“The best advice I was given doing this NIL stuff was, when you’re going out looking at brands you want to partner with, look at the things you use on a daily basis—the daily necessities, “ he said. “Just having a daily routine—and a part of that is grooming and making sure you look presentable—and making deals like that, who’s better for that than Philips Norelco?”
Shot callers
Why will more brands be drawn to Walker, Dick and other draftees once their names are called? According to SponsorUnited, NBA players have social media influence roughly 2.5 times that of other professional sports athletes—with even greater reach on Instagram.
More than 300 brands tied their NBA sponsorship to messages of social equality, environmental stewardship, community support, health and empowerment. That makes NBA players leaders in purpose-driven marketing, which has increased 25% leaguewide during the last year.
“The game’s best players are just as influential on the court as off the court,” Lynch said. “As NBA fans interact more and more with their favorite players, brands are presented with an unparalleled opportunity to form deeper connections with their audiences through endorsements.”
Philips Norelco has already given its players a sample of what that brand demanded during its initial Team OneBlade push. Shuffling players from events to media engagements to fittings and other obligations, Philips Norelco has provided as much of a pro-level experience as it can without actually getting players into the game.
“It’s been crazy schedule-wise: We come here, the first two days, it’s just nonstop one thing after another—kind of a whirlwind of events,” Dick said. “At the same time, it’s everything I wanted and everything I’ve worked for, so I’m just trying to enjoy every little moment.”
For Walker, it’s about as much of a glimpse into the future as he’d like before the draft. There’s still time to pursue other businesses. There’s still time to build a business of his own. He and Dick are both 19 and will be entering the NBA with many unanswered questions, though they picked up a few answers from brands in college and the big razor company that supported them through the draft.
“Honestly, I don’t even know everything else I have to do today,” he said. “I just try to take it day by day, enjoy the process and just kind of let everything else play out.”
