Popeyes Chicken meme kid, Dieunerst Collin, is now a college football player who just signed an NIL deal with Popeyes.
NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness. A new rule created by the NCAA allows college athletes to get paid for their name, image or likeness in advertising or an endorsement deal.
Collin went viral in a 2013 video on the now-defunct Twitter platform Vine. While standing in line at Popeyes, a random stranger asked him if he was Vine star Lil TerRio.
Collin’s nervous side-eye reaction was comedy gold, and he became a Vine sensation himself.
We've come a long, long way.
Dieunerst Collin now has an endorsement deal with Popeyes. pic.twitter.com/y5U0efmTTj
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 11, 2023
Now 6-foot-1 and 330 pounds, the 18-year-old is an offensive lineman in his freshman year at Lake Erie College.
A movement was launched to help Collin score an NIL deal with Popeyes after he tweeted: “Popeyes, I JUST WANNA TALK.”
“I NEED EVERYONE TO REPOST THIS AND TAG @popeyes. I JUST WANNA TALK BUSINESS,” he wrote.
After hundreds of retweets and reposts on Instagram, the fast food chain reportedly offered Collin an NIL deal, according to Front Office Sports.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it probably includes free Popeyes Chicken meals for life.
