🏟️ The 6-Figure NIL Portfolio of Amir "Aura" Khan

Breaking down his legendary March Madness endorsements

Author

Jeff Chen
March 28, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Welcome to this week’s edition of Sports Industry Weekly as we share insights from the top business headlines from across the sports industry.

Every NIL Deal For The Legendary Student Manager

McNeese State University may have fallen short in the second round, but their biggest win this tournament wasn’t on the court—it was off it.

Amir “Aura” Khan has become the breakout NIL sensation of this year’s March Madness.

It started with his viral walkout moment and since then, he’s skyrocketed from zero to over 150,000+ followers across social media.

Supported by Reed Vial, Special Assistant to Head Coach Will Wade (who’s stepped in as Amir’s marketing agent), Aura has already locked in over six figures in NIL revenue.

Here’s a full breakdown of every deal he’s landed:

🎟️ TickPick - The brand's first ever NIL partnership recreated the original viral walkout moment.

🍪 Insomnia Cookies - Amir's second NIL deal hooked him and his team with endorsement money and free cookies.

🤖 The Formula Bot - This AI data platform helped Amir create an analysis and game plan to prepare for their first-round matchup.

🦬 Buffalo Wild Wings - BWW branded the team's speaker for another tunnel entrance event.

🎮 Fortnite - A perfectly timed and executed sponsored content "Victory Royale" photo for McNeese's win over Clemson.

🏀 Topps - Amir became the first student manager to have an official trading card.

🩲 PSD Underwear - Amir gifted all his teammates complimentary underwear ahead of their second-round matchup.

💸 Turbo Tax - With all this NIL revenue coming in, Amir needed to ensure his taxes were filed correctly.

🧦 Rock Em Socks - Nothing says NIL like officially licensed t-shirts and socks.

🌟 Shop GLD - Amir made sure every teammate received new chains and jewelry.

🧥 Under Armour - Ahead of their Purdue game, Amir debuted a custom made “Aura” jumpsuit created with Under Armour.

If McNeese’s Cinderella run had gone any further, this list would’ve doubled.

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⚾️ Sportico released its 2025 Most Valuable MLB Teams list, with the New York Yankees ($8.39B), Los Angeles Dodgers ($7.73B), and Boston Red Sox ($6.03B) leading the league.

🏈 Under Armour returns as the NFL’s official footwear and glove partner. The brand had a prior deal with the NFL from 2006 through 2020, while Nike currently holds the broader uniform and apparel deal.

📈 Women's sports revenue is expected to reach a record $2.3 billion this year, according to a new Deloitte report, marking a 25% increase from 2022 and nearly three times the revenue of 2021.

🎙️LeBron has been all over the media this week, and in business news, he announced the next season of his "Mind The Game" podcast with Steve Nash as his new co-host, replacing his former co-host, JJ Redick, who is now the Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. The show will be produced by Uninterrupted and Amazon’s Wondery.

⚽️ Boston’s NWSL expansion franchise will officially be named the Boston Legacy Football Club following an earlier mishap with their initial name announcement and marketing campaign.

🐐 Sports retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods gathered the greatest athletes in sports for an epic TV commercial, including Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Suni Lee, Travis Hunter, and streamer iShowSpeed.

🏟️ Huge new stadium and practice facility project announcements were made this week, including the New York Liberty’s $80 million practice facility, Syracuse Football’s state-of-the-art performance center, and the University of Kansas's upgrades to their football complex.

💰 The NBA informed teams that the salary cap is projected to increase by 10% for the 2025-2026 season, reaching $154.6 million, with an expected luxury tax threshold of $187.9 million.

🏀 The future of elite basketball will be on display at the McDonald’s All-American Game on April 1st in Brooklyn, NY, and the Jordan Brand Classic on April 18th, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

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