Everyone has that moment when you hear something so crazy that you have to speak up. I was
at a social gathering when the person in the group next to me just would not stop talking about
NIL. I listened for a time until he started going on about how NIL would end the one and done in
college basketball. I tried; I really did. Still, there comes a time when a person really doesn’t
deserve to voice their opinion, especially when it is so misguided. NIL is a nice step, but it
doesn’t address the real issue of why people leave. 

Let’s pretend though that the NIL would be enough to keep players from jumping to the NBA.
Let’s look at reality. According to Swimswam.com, only 7.5% of NIL deals are going to Men’s
Basketball. Women’s volleyball has more NIL deals than Men’s Basketball. Men’s Basketball
barely beats baseball as to the number of NIL deals. Since the One and Done is a basketball
thing, it is hard to imagine that the amount of deals is really going to change the way things are
done.

While the number of deals does not really tell the entire story, the money does. The percentage
of money going to Men’s Basketball is more favorable than the number of deals. Men’s
basketball comes in second when money is concerned. Still, only 13.4% of NIL deals are going
to this group (according to Swimswam). Despite the percentage, the money is still not going
toward Men’s Basketball. At the moment, $8 million dollars is the largest NIL deal (according to
Gobankingrates.com). As of yet, the name of this lucky individual is unknown, but we do know
that it is a high school football recruit. Ohio State football quarterback Quinn Ewers has the next
highest deal at $1.4 million. Of the top ten biggest NIL deals, nine of them went to football
players and one to a female gymnast. Most of these deals are at $1 million dollars or less. A
look at Men’s Basketball show that only one player is making a combined payout over $1
million: Hercy Miller from Tennessee State. Of course, Hercy just happens to be the son of
rapper Master P.

Most of the money going to NCAA basketball is actually going to the women’s side. Paige
Bueckers is a million dollar girl. The Cavinder Twins are million dollar girls. Men are not getting
the deals. Sure, I might have missed a deal or two. Sure, there are deals out there, like Drew
Timme’s Dollar Shave Club, that haven’t released the full details, specifically the money side. It
doesn’t matter. It isn’t going to change anything for two simple reasons: it’s not the NBA and it’s
chump change. According to Sportrac.com, the top draft pick is guaranteed to get a four year
deal at almost $50 million, while the last pick of the first round is set to receive over $11 million
over four. No NIL deal is going to fork over that kind of cash. Imagine me going to Chet Holgrem
or Paolo Banchero or Jabari Smith Jr and saying, “Hey, I’ll give you a million dollars to rep my
website, but you have to stay in school.” I would get laughed at. Actually, they would have their
bouncer throw me out. (Yes, all three probably have hypothetically hired muscle since they are
about to become freaking billionaires over the next decade. They are too important to throw out
the likes of me.)

Even money aside, NIL doesn’t matter. Every basketball kid grows up wanting to play in the
NBA. They don’t dream about playing four years at a university. They grow up wanting to make
it to the league. College is a waypoint for these top kids. Honestly, those three kids would
probably have jumped right to the bigs if it wasn’t for the Draft rules. No amount of NIL will keep
a kid that is already getting a free education, a free dining plan, books, meals after certain
practices/games, a stipend, and several other perks. It’s not the NBA. IT’S NOT THE NBA. The

NBA is the goal. Plus, who wants to take finals and write papers when you could be a
multimillionaire. Plus, these pro athletes will still get endorsement deals.
The Recap: You have the right to your opinion, unless it is that the NIL will matter to One and
Dones. There is a pride issue in making it to the NBA that surpasses the money. Of course,
eight digit salaries are kind of cooler than NIL anyway.