{"id":206477,"date":"2022-03-23T12:26:52","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T19:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=206477"},"modified":"2022-03-23T13:14:45","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T20:14:45","slug":"2022-march-madness-debut-college-stars-profiting-off-likeness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/2022-march-madness-debut-college-stars-profiting-off-likeness\/","title":{"rendered":"2022 March Madness Debut of College Stars Profiting Off Their Likeness, Casino Buys In"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2022 March Madness NCAA men’s basketball tournament is the first year of the tournament that college players are permitted to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). And at least one casino is already in on the expanded advertising game.<\/p>\n

\"Gonzaga
Gonzaga basketball star Drew Timme stars in a commercial for the Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Spokane, Washington. The commercials are airing in select markets during the NCAA March Madness men’s basketball tournament. (Image: Northern Quest Resort & Casino)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NCAA last year lifted a longtime ban on allowing college athletes to profit off of their NIL. The association did so after being pushed by state lawmakers and federal courts, which criticized the governing body and their member schools for reaping the billions of dollars in television revenue such athletes generate for the institutions each year.<\/p>\n

Gonzaga, the top overall seed in the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, is the betting front-runner to win the national championship<\/a> at +220. Coach Mark Few’s star player — Drew Timme — is one such player already making money through the NIL program.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Timme stars in a series of TV commercials for the Northern Quest Resort & Casino<\/a>. The tribal casino is less than 10 miles from the Gonzaga campus in Spokane, Washington.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n<\/span>