NIL isn’t just for student-athletes anymore. Parents play pivotal roles in helping their children navigate the space, from signing brand deals to weighing transfer portal decisions. Now, one soon-to-be famous sports mom is front and center in a new campaign.

Kelly Flagg — mother to National Player of the Year and expected NBA Draft No. 1 pick, Cooper — was a team captain and three-time conference champion at the University of Maine in a pre-NIL universe. She is currently starring in a new campaign for Dr. Scholl’s to celebrate the previously unsung heroes of the sports world: sports moms.

After a historic freshman season at Duke, Cooper declared for the NBA Draft and the Flagg family will find out his likely next home when the team with the top selection is revealed.

Through a series of videos across social media, the Flagg family’s matriarch highlights how the Dr. Scholl’s 24-Hour Energy Multipurpose Insoles are essential to her daily routine.

“I’m excited to be partnering with Dr. Scholl’s because as a mom of three boys who are all involved in sports, I know just how much energy and effort it takes to keep up,” Flagg said. “Moms are the unseen force behind every athlete – whether we’re cheering from the sidelines, hustling between games, or making sure they’re fueled and ready to go. We’re putting in just as many miles as they are. Dr. Scholl’s insoles are that little boost that helps us keep moving, no matter what the day throws at us.”

Ahead of Mother’s Day and the NBA Draft lottery — where the Flagg family will find out their new home away from home — Kelly spoke to NIL Daily on SI about the role sports Moms play, her new Dr. Scholl’s campaign and how her family has navigated the NIL landscape this past year.

As a former college athlete in a pre-NIL universe, I imagine this is your first marketing campaign – how did the partnership with Dr. Scholl’s come about?
“I was approached about doing this partnership and to be honest, it just really fit because I’ve certainly bought my fair share of Dr. Scholl’s over the years trying to keep the kids in sneakers and keep them going. So when they approached me, I said I’d love to do it.”

We’ve seen some sports Moms – like Travis and Jason Kelce’s mom, Donna – front and center in various marketing campaigns, but for you, what does it mean to have your own moment, especially in such a special time between March Madness and Mother’s Day?
“It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve kind of joked around about it with the boys about who is the bigger celebrity – they think that’s pretty funny – between my mom and me. She was in an AT&T commercial with Cooper over March Madness and so the joke now is: who’s the bigger star in the family – my mom, Cooper or me – so it’s just been a lot of fun.”

As a former college basketball player in a pre-NIL universe, what is your perspective on this new world that we’re living in – in terms of student-athletes being able to, to capitalize on their own marketing opportunities?
“I think it’s great for players to be able to earn money on their name and image and likeness. I have some feelings about where the landscape is headed – especially in terms of ‘pay for play’ and where that’s headed. As far as student-athletes being able to earn money, I think it’s a great thing.”

How have you kept your three kids grounded throughout all of this – on and off the court and through NIL?
“First and foremost, we’ve always been very honest with our kids and give honest feedback. We just continue to tell them that they need to keep working and they can always improve. Also, I think it’s a benefit of where we’re from. This isn’t the norm for kids from Maine, and I think that is a big piece of it. The recognition that they’re not just doing this for themselves, but they’re really like carrying the whole state sort of on their backs and bringing them along on this journey with them. So those things are really important.”

Within this campaign, Dr. Scholl’s is shining light on the unsung heroes of sports: the sports Mom. What has been your experience as a sports Mom of three basketball players and what are you excited about showcasing in this campaign?
“My own personal experience was when the boys were little and we would only be able to afford one pair of sneakers – possibly two throughout the year – and to make them last longer, we would just replace the insoles with Dr. Scholl’s. As they got older, we would buy the special sports ones that helped them to have more energy, jump higher, while protecting their, their knees and preventing injuries.”

“Now as a busy Mom who is always on my feet like this, that’s why this was a great partnership because I use them – the 24-Hour Energy Multipurpose Insoles – to get to all the places I need to get to. You wouldn’t believe the travel schedule that I have running from gym to gym, through airports and standing on my feet watching practices or games.”

You’ll be traveling quite a bit more in the future and although you still don’t know where Cooper’s next home will be, how are you as a family preparing for this next step with the NBA Draft coming soon?
“I think we’re trying not to get too stressed about it and just play it by ear. We’ve moved twice in the last two years. We moved to Florida two years ago, which was the first time we’ve ever moved from our home in Maine we’d been in since we got married 25 years ago. It’s the only house our kids had known. This last year we were living in Greensboro and so now we know we can do it. We can live anywhere. Your home is where your family is, not necessarily a location. So we’ll be doing a lot of traveling between the boys. We’ll spend more time back in Maine as Ace is going to be at the University of Maine and we’ll travel to wherever Cooper’s going to spend a lot of time in that location as well, but I know it’ll all work out.”

The Flagg family will learn who holds the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft when the NBA Draft lottery tips off in Chicago on May 12 at 7PM ET on ESPN.