Lamar Jackson

In a still from from a Gatorade commercial, Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, a Heisman winner at the University of Louisville, headlines his first national ad campaign.

 Image from Gatorade/PepsiCo commercial

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Lamar Jackson is one of the handful of biggest stars in America's biggest sport -- the National Football League. But for all that, he has not been one of its biggest pitchmen.

While Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are everywhere, Lamar sightings have been fairly infrequent.

That will change with his latest endorsement -- Gatorade. Jackson stars in a new spot in the "You Know We Got It" campaign.

"The idea is all about the idea that 'IT' is an internal mindset that drives you to be your best," Jackson said in a release. "Becoming an official Gatorade athlete and debuting my first campaign is surreal. I'm proud to be working with a brand that is championing the future of football, and I'm hyped for athletes everywhere to think about how their 'IT' can help them lock in and be great."

Jackson joins Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings, Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams and flag football player Diana Flores in the spot.

Jackson, a two-time NFL MVP, has had some endorsements. He was on the cover of EASports' Madden game in 2021. That same year, he voiced and starred in a spot for Oakley sunglasses that mainly ran on digital.

He was in a "Heisman House" commercial, putting his Louisville jersey back on, in 2020.

But Gatorade is a major national player, and Jackson is the headliner of the ad, appearing in the first frame in the locker room, rising up from his locker after an announcer asked, "Can Lamar get it done?"

"They're trying to write us off," Jackson tells teammates, before asking, "Ya'll got it?"

Jackson is represented by his mother, so his approach to national endorsement deals has likely not followed the path it would with a more traditional agent.

But now he has landed a major deal, and he'll go head-to-head with Mahomes on the field in the NFL opener Thursday night in Kansas City.

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