Cooper Flagg blew away most expectations in his sole season with the Duke Blue Devils.
The reclassified 18-year-old put up monster box scores as a top scoring option, leading Duke to the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and a Final Four. A load of desperate NBA teams clamored for the opportunity to draft him, but a lottery-night stunner put Flagg in position to be the savior of the Dallas Mavericks franchise.
Flagg entered college at an ideal time, riding the NIL wave to set a financial foundation before going pro. Most reports estimated Flagg’s NIL income to be around $4 or 5 million.
But when Flagg came up as the poster child for the NIL era in an interview between sports reporters Howard Bryant and Bob Costas this week at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Bryant blew that number out of the water. Bryant asked Costas whether he knew how much Flagg earned, then teased that he had the answer.
“He had a $13 million deal with New Balance and then $15 million with Fanatics,” Bryant said.
Here’s the catch: Bryant is likely reporting the full extent of the contracts.
When Flagg signed with New Balance last August, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the deal was “significant” and others stated it was a multiyear pact. The exclusive memorabilia deal he signed with Fanatics was reported to bring in “millions” earlier this year.
It is likely that both contracts extend into his pro career. For example, Caitlin Clark signed with Nike while at Iowa before news broke around the WNBA Draft on an eight-year, $28 million contract.
So if Bryant is estimating the full value of Flagg’s deals into his early NBA days, he may even be on the low-end. In addition to New Balance and Fanatics, Flagg is in business with Gatorade and some other, smaller companies.
Of course, this is only possible because of the legalization of NIL deals. Otherwise, none of these companies could negotiate with Flagg until he was a professional. If you’re an athlete as great as Cooper Flagg these days, you can secure your long- and short-term future all at age 18 while playing on a college campus.
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