Dieunerst Collin, famous as "awkward Popeyes meme kid" has signed NIL deal with Popeyes

We have come full circle! The fried chicken chain Popeyes has signed the viral ‘Popeyes meme kid’ to a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal, 10 years after the awkward original video of him went viral on Vine.

Dieunerst Collin wasn't planning on becoming a meme, he was just going about his day at Popeyes waiting in line to get a soda when Vine sensation Terio ran up to him and filmed his awkward reaction. This encounter became known as ‘Popeyes meme kid’ or ‘Terio at Popeyes’, and soon people had created gifs and still to use young Dieunerst's side-eyeing in all sorts of jokes. 

Fast forward from 2013 to 2021 when a now grown Collin playing for the East Orange High School football team won the state championship, and an eagle-eyed user on Twitter posted the original meme with Collin holding the championship cup, and pulling another kind of side-eye.

Now in 2023, on January 8, Collin posted to his social media channels that he “just wanted to talk” with Popeyes. He is a freshman offensive lineman at D-II Lake Erie College, and Popeyes reached out to him. He's now signed a NIL deal with Popeyes - all thanks to a decade old meme side-eye.