Keaton Wagler and David Mirković dominate jersey sales with Illini headed to Final 4

The Illinois Fighting Illini have surged back to prominence and have returned to the Final Four for the first time in over two decades.

These days, unlike in 2005, with deep runs in the NCAA Tournament comes increased interest and sales in your NIL products. That has been especially true for Illinois stars David Mirković and Keaton Wagler, two of the starters in Brad Underwood's lineup.

In fact, according to The NIL Store, which is one of the nation's leaders in licensed NIL merchandise, Wagler and Mirković led the country in jersey sales over the past week as the Illini took down the Houston Cougars and Iowa Hawkeyes in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

Wagler and Mirković even topped the sales of fan-favorite players like Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr. and UConn women's Azzi Fudd.

Even the Illinois Fighitng Illini have bandwagon fans now

As perennial powerhouse programs like Duke, North Carolina, and more have been eliminated, more and more fans have turned their attention to teams still in the tournament, including the No. 3-seed Illini, who are much more favorable to cheer for than UConn, Arizona, or Michigan.

Plus, how can you not love a team led by a coach who started at the JUCO level and brought his current team back to the pinnacle of the sport? Not to mention the fact that Illinois is led by transfer portal products, a Champaign native, and an underrecruited freshman.

As the Fighting Illini prepare to take on the UConn Huskies, one of the most dominant programs over the last few decades, the team will have to rely even more heavily on players like Wagler and Mirković, who clearly have an ever-growing support system behind them.

No. 3-seed Illinois and No. 2-seed UConn are scheduled to tip off their Final Four matchup on Saturday, April 4, at 5:09 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on TBS, truTV, and HBO Max.