Thanks to San Diego State’s incredible run to the NCAA Tournament title game, star guard Matt Bradley has reaped the benefits of his own personal brand through name, image and likeness opportunities.
In San Diego State’s Final Four game against Florida Atlantic, Bradley finished with a team-high 21 points and six rebounds in the 72-71 victory over the Owls, helping the Aztecs advance to their first national championship appearance in program history.
After the performance, Bradley inked a NIL partnership with Caktus AI — the artificial intelligence platform that has already made waves in the space, by previously signing LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne and Miami women’s basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder.
Caktus AI co-founder Harrison Leonard says the company takes into account “all of the factors surrounding a player and their marketability.”
In May of 2022, Leonard, a former Notre Dame kicker, and Tao Zhang, a Michigan engineering grad, founded the company.
“Matt Bradley is a class act both on and off the court,” Leonard told The NIL Deal. “The run they had in the tournament played a major role in this decision, but also San Diego State just launched a new artificial intelligence research program which made this a great fit. We want to work with student-athletes at universities that are innovative, forward thinking and able to adapt to change.
“Matt has had such a long successful career and we were so happy to give him this opportunity.”
In the national championship game against UConn, Bradley finished with eight points and three boards in the Aztecs’ 76-59 loss to the Huskies. Bradley, who just wrapped up his senior year, averaged 14.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists per game over his collegiate career.
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