Hoosiers Coach Mike Woodson Has Hilarious Reaction To NIL Deal Involving A Signature Cheeseburger

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College athletes have taken full advantage of the NIL Era since getting the green light to leverage their Personal Brand. That includes Indiana University basketball player Malik Reneau, although Hoosiers head coach Mike Woodson wasn’t exactly thrilled to learn about his deal with a local restaurant.

Reneau is a Florida native who headed up to Bloomington for his freshman season in 2022. He didn’t start many games during his inaugural campaign, but the 6’9″ forward was a solid contributor who averaged around 6 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist in the 15 minutes he typically logged off of the bench.

He may not have emerged as a superstar in his first season, but he still attracted the attention of Big Woods, a restaurant that signed him to an NIL deal back in May.

That endorsement included the creation of the “Malik Reneau Burger,” which is topped with cheese, bacon, onion rings, and some honey BBQ sauce.

It appears Woodson was unaware of that partnership until a reporter asked him if he’d gotten the chance to try the burger during a preseason press conference earlier this week, and the coach wasn’t shy about sharing his thoughts on the matter by responding, “What the hell? He shouldn’t be eating burgers. Is it a veggie burger or something”

Based on some other comments he made about Reneua during the media session, it’s pretty clear Woodson isn’t too concerned with his fitness, and it certainly appears the 20-year-old has a pretty solid diet based on the fairly drastic physical transformation he showed off over the summer.

Reneua also impressed Woodson enough during practices in the offseason to earn a spot as a starter, so even if he has been making the trek to the restaurant to wolf down the burger that’s named after him on a regular basis, it doesn’t seem like it’s been a major hindrance to his development.