Cavinder twins sign NIL deal with Caktus AI
Caktus AI has not walked away from the spotlight.
The artificial intelligence company caused a stir earlier this month when it signed LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne to a name, image and likeness deal. Ethics questions surrounding the use of AI in an educational environment popped up following Dunne’s TikTok; she is the most followed college athlete on social media. LSU even released a statement warning the tool could result in academic misconduct.
Caktus is not deterred, though. The brand has signed Miami basketball players Hanna and Haley Cavinder, two of the most prominent names in the NIL era. Miami is set to play in the second round of the NCAA women’s tournament Monday night against No. 1 seed Indiana.
In a video released on their shared TikTok account Monday morning, the twins are shown with former Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who is sitting in a separate room using Caktus AI on his laptop.
The partnership was facilitated by Everett Sports Management, which also does marketing work for Gibbs. Darren Heitner also assisted on the legal side.
Jeff Hoffman, who serves as the Cavinders’ main agent, said the promotional content does not highlight one specific capability. Instead, the video is meant to show off what the tool can do, from essay writing to a paragraph generator and cover letter writer. There is also a math and science section and a citation creator.
Started by former Notre Dame kicker Harrison Leonard and Michigan engineering grad Tao Zhang, the brand has described itself as a way for students to spend less time working on “meaningless writing assignments.”
Dunne has more than 11 million social media followers, which gave Caktus AI unprecedented exposure. The twins have more than 5 million combined social media followers, including 4.3 million on TikTok. They also have a YouTube page with more than 85,000 subscribers.
“[Users on the site] is through the roof; it was very mutually beneficial for both parties,” Leonard previously told On3. “It’s impressions – that was probably one of the most disruptive NIL campaigns that has been run, just off the amount of stories that have come out of it. … We’re actually really excited about it. I mean, from a marketing perspective, it’s the best thing that could ever happen.”
Caktus continues pushing into NIL
When LSU pushed back on Dunne’s endorsement of Caktus, Leonard previously told On3 there was never any thought about taking down the post. As of Monday morning, the original TikTok has been viewed 1.6 million times. Comments have been turned off.
Since it went live, the Cavinder twins’ video has garnered more than 105,000 views. That number will only grow in the coming days. And while the University of Miami could put out its own statement, it won’t result in Caktus walking back any endorsement deals.
Instead, the public conversation has been an added bonus for the company.
“I think it’s really good. I mean, I think in terms of what we want, we want the conversation to start in AI,” Leonard said. “The sooner that the message is being portrayed, we’re going to see more and more of it. And we’re going to start seeing it for like a good cause. Schools are going to start accepting it the same way they accept the calculator. We’re not promoting the fact of someone just writing an essay and turning it in. We want people to use Caktus to help them get started and think of new ideas and use it for research.”
Cavinder twins’ growing brand
Monday’s NIL deal marks the first partnership with a company since Miami basketball received sanctions for the Cavinder twins’ recruitment. They haven’t shied away from sharing their feelings of the NCAA’s decision. In a TikTok released following the sanctions, the Cavinders are seen in the locker room dancing with the caption “BFFR.”
“Dear NCAA, scared that female athletes have value?” Haley tweeted with the video. “Let’s hoop tho.. .”
They have not struggled to find NIL opportunties in 2023, signing notable partnerships with Intuit TurboTax, Raising Cane’s and Under Armour.
Hanna and Haley’s On3 NIL Valuations each sit at $835,000. The twins sit at No. 36 and No. 37, respectively, in the On3 NIL 100. The rankings are the first of its kind and a de facto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.
The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.
About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value
While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career.
The On3 NIL Valuation accounts for an athlete’s roster value and brand value. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. Brand value factors in an athlete’s personal brand and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.
The On3 NIL Valuation is publicly available. Performance, Influence, and Exposure ratings along with the athlete’s personal Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index are available only to the athlete in the “Athlete Verified” private dashboard on the On3 Athlete Network.