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Is it bad that the biggest star of March Madness so far isn’t even a player?
The first round of the NCAA tournament wrapped up yesterday, and other than 12-seed McNeese State upsetting 5-seed Clemson, it was a pretty anticlimactic round of 64. There weren’t any real Cinderella stories, no magic comebacks or overnight superstars…other than Amir Khan.
If you only watched the games, you may not even know the name Amir Khan. But if you’re on social media, chances are you’ve seen the McNeese student manager who’s become a viral superstar.
It actually started before the NCAA tournament, when the team posted a video of Khan leading the Cowboys out of the tunnel with his boombox ahead of a game against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi.
Never felt this much hype before a game—easily one of my all-time favorite filming momentsImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.— “Who is PJ?” Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The viral video led to Khan, whose nickname is “Aura,” becoming the first student manager to be signed to an NIL deal, landing endorsements from Buffalo Wild Wings, TickPick and Insomnia Cookies. And ahead of March Madness, Khan became the face of the underdog McNeese program as they sought to upset Clemson in the first round.
Good Vibes Only.#BayouBandits | #GeauxPokes pic.twitter.com/oMLjrHPFsZ
— McNeese Men’s Basketball (@McNeeseMBB) March 20, 2025
The McNeese cheerleaders even wore socks with Khan’s face on them during their first round game:
McNeese cheerleaders are wearing Amir Khan branded socks Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Aura. pic.twitter.com/k2ILxZ8ZjF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 20, 2025
And after McNeese knocked off the Tigers to make the round of 32, the offers began rolling in for Khan, who showed up to the game against Purdue today in his own “Aura”-branded Under Armour tracksuit while sitting next to legendary filmmaker Spike Lee during the matchup.
Look good, feel good, play good!#BayouBandits | #GeauxPokes pic.twitter.com/Wn0PCho4WS
— McNeese Men’s Basketball (@McNeeseMBB) March 22, 2025
McNeese team manager Amir Khan is sitting next to Spike Lee during their Round of 32 matchup Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 22, 2025
Speaking about Khan’s role with the team, McNeese coach Will Wade had high praise for the student manager:
“He’s a servant leader in the sense that when I was a manager at Clemson, you’re at a bigger school. You have scholarship money we can divvy out. We’re McNeese. We have no scholarship money. This is strictly volunteer. When we got the job, we had no managers, we had nothing.”
And while he started as a volunteer, Khan has managed to cash in on his social media stardom.
Thanks to all of the NIL deals, the manager is reportedly raking in over six-figures from a dozen different sponsors.
McNeese manager Amir “Aura” Khan now has a customized Under Armour jumpsuit. Company reps flew into Providence last night.
I’m told he has 12 NIL deals, all totaling well into the six figures. Buffalo Wild Wings, TickPick and TurboTax are the three biggest. Nothing like March. pic.twitter.com/Jl0DctW6K1
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 22, 2025
The Lake Charles, Louisiana native says he took the job at his hometown school because he was a fan of Coach Wade from his time at LSU. And he’s reportedly even set to follow Wade to NC State as a graduate student assistant when the coach takes his new job next season.
And he says that all the attention that he’s gotten has come as a bit of a surprise:
“I never as a manager expected ANY attention at all. Definitely not this much.”
Well Khan’s definitely got a lot of attention (and it probably helps that the first round was a bit of a snoozer), and ahead of the team’s matchup with Purdue the cheerleaders were even sporting Amir Khan t-shirts for the game.
McNeese State cheerleaders have upgraded from Amir Khan’s face on their socks to Amir Khan graphic tees
We’ve never seen a man with more motion
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 22, 2025
Unfortunately McNeese had their Cinderella run cut short, falling to the Boilermakers 76-62. But Amir “Aura” Khan may be the biggest winner of this year’s March Madness, even though he doesn’t even play on a team.
The post McNeese Student Manager Lands Six-Figure NIL Deals After Becoming The Social Media Star Of March Madness first appeared on Whiskey Riff.Unparalleled aura. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Thank you, Amir Khan Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/0zi2xPKCZO
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2025
