Cooper Flagg reportedly made staggering $28 million in NIL money in one season at Duke

Cooper Flagg might be taking a pay cut to go to the NBA.Flagg, who is expected to go to the Mavericks with the No.1 pick in the draft, earned $28 million through two NIL deals during his one year at Duke, reporter Howard Bryant told Bob Costas on “The 92nd Street Y.”Entering Duke as the No.

1-ranked freshman in the country, Flagg had a $13 million deal with New Balance and a $15 million deal with Fanatics.It is unclear if those figures represent the totality of multi-year deals or a one-year payment.Either way, the money didn’t distract Flagg from the prize as he won National Player of the Year and led Duke to the Final Four.The top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft is expected to sign a four-year, $62.7 million contract, according to Spotrac.com.

That averages out to a shade under $16 million per year – or about the same as what another former Duke star, Grayson Allen, earned to average 10.6 points per game in 64 games and seven starts for the lowly Wizards this season.Celtics star Jayson Tatum has the highest average salary in the NBA at $62.7 million.Of course, Flagg can still supplement his on-court income with endorsement deals.He will be represented by mega-agency CAA.The Mavericks surprisingly won the NBA Draft lottery despite having a less than two percent chance to get the No.

1 pick.It sparked a new wave of NBA conspiracy theories that the league was rewarding the Mavericks with Flagg for making their head-scratching trade of Luka Doncic to the Lakers for a return that amounted to peanuts when compared to other blockbuster deals.Presumptive No.2 pick Dylan Harper played at Rutgers after signing an undisclosed NIL deal with Fanatics.

Harper’s teammate at Rutgers, presumptive No.3 pick Ace Bailey, had an NIL deal with Nike.ESPN’s On3 ranked Flagg as the second-most-desirable NIL athlete in college sports last season, behind Texas backup quarterback Arch Manning....