March Madness: Duke Cannon Signs 'Un-NIL Deal' With Iowa State Mascot

We'll never know the man inside Cy the Cardinal's suit

Fresh off its ’70s beer vibe campaign from earlier in the week, Duke Cannon inked an “Un-NIL Deal” with the mystery student inside the Iowa State University’s mascot suit. Think of it as a NIL deal, except the name, image and likeness appearing as “Cy the Cardinal” will never be revealed.

“We asked ourselves what kind of athlete deserved an NIL deal from Duke Cannon. And what we found out was it was the one guy who couldn’t sign an NIL deal, the anonymous mascot, who we felt earned it the most,” Maxx Delaney, GCD of Quality Meats, tells Muse.

The video below pays tribute to the unsung, anonymous heroes who don mascot suits and hype up fans—only to be excluded from cashing in. Until now.

Still, Duke Cannon soap will help the mystery student come clean. Though not about his (her? their?) identity. Products play heavily into this particular deal.

“Our agreement with the anonymous student inside the mascot costume lasts one year, as we plan to use him during the college football season as well. Although it would be pretty hard to enforce because, we don’t know who this person actually is,” Jamie Stark, GCD of Quality Meats, tells Muse.

The campaign will run online throughout March Madness and OOH in cities that are hosting tourney games.

Following Iowa State’s first game, a bar of soap used by the mascot will be auctioned on eBay—perhaps with some red fur attached.