During the opening game of the NCAA Tournament’s First Four on Tuesday night between Southeast Missouri State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, you might have noticed a couple of familiar faces pop up during a commercial break. As part of a new name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal with the popular cellular carrier AT&T, Kentucky senior forward Jacob Toppin and former Wildcat star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were featured in the company’s latest March Madness ad.
In the commercial, AT&T spokesperson Lily is sitting in a room next to the Kentucky mascot and Toppin while toying with their phones. The advertisement plays on the “one-and-done” tagline that head coach John Calipari has adopted since his arrival in Lexington, but is centered around phone trade-ins instead of going to the NBA. Gilgeous-Alexander makes a brief cameo, too.
All in all, it’s pretty cool to see a current Wildcat getting some national airtime. In this new NIL era, it certainly won’t be the last time something like this happens, either. You can watch the full clip below.