The College Case: Money and a Platform Now
The college pipeline has staged a comeback in recruiting terms specifically because of NIL money and the ready-made national television platform it comes with. BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa carries an estimated NIL valuation near 4.4 million dollars for the 2025-26 season, on top of a reported eight-figure marketing deal with Fanatics and sponsorships from Nike and Red Bull, while his school's NIL collective is reported to have offered him a package worth roughly 7 million dollars to enroll. Flagg's Duke earnings put him in the same tier. For a family weighing options, that is real, guaranteed money attached to a season of games broadcast nationally to NBA scouts, something neither the G League nor a European roster spot reliably offers a teenager.
