Duke University basketball star Cooper Flagg has signed with Gatorade to help market the iconic sports drink.
Flagg announced the partnership on Tuesday through a marketing firm. The 6-foot-9 Duke freshman is the first NCAA men’s basketball player to join Gatorade’s list of elite athletes and will help advertise the company’s products by appearing in future marketing campaigns, according to a press release from FleishmanHillard Marketing of Boston.
The Newport native already had a relationship of sorts with the company, having been named Gatorade Best Male Player of the Year, as the nation’s top high school male athlete in any sport. He was also named the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Financial terms of the agreement were not released.
Previous Gatorade award winners who have gone on to help market the company include Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and WNBA players Caitlin Clark and Candace Parker.
“This has been a big year for me on and off the court, and Gatorade has been there the whole way,” Flagg said in a statement. “From being named the Gatorade Best Male Player of the Year to now officially joining the team, it’s been surreal to have my name mentioned with some of the biggest names in basketball. The Gatorade roster is iconic, and I’m excited to work with them as I take this next step.”
Flagg joins other well-known college athletes such as University of Connecticut women’s basketball player Paige Bueckers, USC basketball player Juju Watkins, and University of Colorado football player Shedeur Sanders to help market the company under the NCAA Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rule.
