The Duke Blue Devils are set to face off against the No. 1 seeded Houston Cougars in a highly anticipated Sweet 16 matchup on Friday night. But hours before, Duke star Jared McCain garnered the attention of the college basketball world for another reason, a major NIL deal that he recently closed on.
On top of being an excellent basketball player at Duke, McCain has gained quite the following on TikTok. He has 2.6 million followers on the platform, certainly an impressive amount for anyone much less a student-athlete.
This type of popularity opens up doors for a plethora of possibilities when it comes to potential NIL deals. Even perhaps opportunities that most wouldn’t assume that a college basketball player would get.
But on Thursday, McCain officially signed an NIL deal with popular beauty and nail polish brand Sally Hansen.
Duke guard Jared McCain has signed an NIL deal with beauty and nail polish brand Sally Hansen.
"Sorry if that offends any of you guys." pic.twitter.com/zwmmrufgA7
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 29, 2024
He spoke about the NIL deal in a recent TikTok video, sending a message to those who are against the move, which happens to be quite a lot of people.
“Sorry if it offends any of you guys,” said McCain.
Naturally, plenty of those who support the move for McCain also chimed in, appreciating him for being himself despite all of the criticism that he may receive.
Be you! Get that bag and express yourself how you please. (If you feel like the polish helps your shooting be this elite let a brother know too😂)
— T3 Bracketology™️🏀 (@T3Bracketology) March 29, 2024
It's funny
The dudes who were rock legends in my youth (Axl Rose, etc) had earrings, wore rings and bracelets, long hair, some pierced nipples
Painted skin (tattoos)
But this guy can't paint his nails??
Is self expression less offensive to white ppl if done by fellow whites?— Eric Crawford (@ericcraw4d) March 29, 2024
I love this.
Be yourself, unapologetically!
Hats off, Jared. 👏
— Donny Chiarel (@donnychiarel) March 29, 2024
Love this! Express yourself.
— Jennifer Keene (@JenniferKeene) March 29, 2024
Hand up: I’d paint my finger nails for a big bag 💰 too
— Tbob (@TbobSmith) March 29, 2024
McCain is far from the only athlete to be criticized for painting his nails. Top NFL draft prospect Caleb Williams also chooses to paint his nails and has received massive amounts of hate for it.
Say what you will, but it’s hard to hate on someone who used his interests like painting his nails, and parlayed that into some serious NIL money like McCain did.
