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March Madness has given overlooked players the opportunity to cash in with the NIL that can come their way if they make a splash in the NCAA Tournament. Maryland’s Derik Queen did exactly that with the game-winner that sent his team to the Sweet Sixteen, and Dairy Queen has decided to cash in on a golden opportunity.
Maryland earned an invite to March Madness after posting a 27-8 record with the help of a well-rounded roster led by Derik Queen, the freshman center who led the team in scoring by averaging 16.2 points per game while also hauling in 9.1 rebounds.
The fourth-seeded Terrapins cruised to an 81-49 victory over Grand Canyon in the first round but met a significantly tougher opponent in the next one in the form of Colorado State, which took a one-point lead with around six seconds to go in their showdown on Sunday.
Maryland subsequently inbounded the ball before calling a timeout to draw up a play with 3.6 seconds left on the clock, and head coach Kevin Willard acquiesced to Queen’s demand to “give me the MFing ball” before hitting the buzzer beater that gave them the 72-71 victory and a ticket to play Florida in the Sweet Sixteen.
On Wednesday, Queen revealed he cashed in on that magical moment by landing an NIL deal courtesy of TurboTax, but that’s not the only exercise in corporate synergy he’s been able to take advantage of.
According to Cllct, Dairy Queen has opted to capitalize on an absolute no-brainer by linking up with the Baltimore native who will appear in some as-of-yet unreleased videos he shot to promote its beloved Blizzard (including the Turtle variety that ties in nicely to Maryland’s mascot).
Queen and Maryland will have the chance to keep their national championship dreams alive when they face off against Florida in San Francisco on Thursday night with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.