KU Jayhawks football’s Jared Casey cashing in on NIL deals after Texas game-winner
Kansas Jayhawks football folk hero Jared Casey is using his newfound stardom to earn some cash — and more.
The KU walk-on tight end who caught the game-winning two-point conversion in the Jayhawks’ 57-56 overtime victory over Texas on Saturday agreed to a recent deal with Applebee’s to shoot a commercial that was filmed Tuesday in Lawrence. Casey making money off his name, image and likeness is now allowed through NCAA rules.
Casey said Wednesday that he received $800 cash and $1,000 in Applebee’s gift cards for his participation.
He wasn’t going to spend all the food credits himself, though, saying he planned to bring some KU teammates with him soon for a meal.
“I’ll take them out,” Casey said. “And I’ll take some guys back out when I get home.”
Casey, from Plainville in northwest Kansas, said he was a frequent visitor growing up to the Applebee’s in nearby Hays. His favorite meal there wasn’t fancy.
“My go-to is just a regular bacon cheeseburger,” Casey said with a smile. “My friends always make fun of me because wherever we go, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll take a cheeseburger.’”
It might not be his last endorsement deal either.
Casey said he was working on an arrangement with Lewis Automotive Group, which has dealerships in Hays and Topeka among other Kansas locations.
“They gave me a call a couple days ago,” Casey said. “They’re gonna talk to the university and see what we could get done there.”
Casey said he definitely wouldn’t turn down a sponsorship that might involve getting him a newer vehicle. He says he drives a hand-me-down Kia Spectra with roughly 230,000 miles on it.
“I don’t know how it still works. The cruise takes off and on sometimes ... you don’t got to put that in there,” Casey said with a laugh. “But yeah, it’s it’s been a family car for sure.”
Jared’s parents, Jerry and Karen, also have a Kia of their own; they drove their 2010 Kia Sedona minivan — with 264,000 miles on it — about 11 hours from Plainville to Austin, Texas, to watch Jared play Saturday.
This is just the start of national publicity for the family this week. Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff and reporter Tom Rinaldi were in Lawrence on Tuesday to interview Jared for a feature, while ESPN’s College GameDay will be airing a story on him this weekend as well.
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 1:37 PM.
