Scholarship table
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespnI have doubts about how many top players will go this route. Some, yes. But G-League is full of early connecting flights, long bus rides, small gyms. It isn't glamorous. Big-time NCAA ball still has the trappings of exposure, packed houses, private jets. You'll get paid there too
This'll be interesting. 125k is a lot of money, glamorous lifestyle or not. I'm curious if NBA scouts are going to attend HS games and look for guys or are they going to stick to the USA basketball and Mcdonalds AA guys or what method they'll use to determine top high school players.
It's not just the $125K. It's the ability to earn millions more immediately through shoe deals and other sponsorships. Does anyone doubt Nike, addidas, Under Armour or Puma wouldn't be eager to sign up a Zion Williamson or RJ Barrett out of high school?
I think he's underrating the allure of $125K going directly to the kid above board and without the threat of an NCAA investigation, the immediate ability to sign a sponsorship deal and profit from one's likeness, and avoiding the charade (for many) of attending classes for a few months.He's also overrated the glamour of college basketball. Will every top kid do this? Of course not. But I suspect we'll eventually see at least half of the top 20 choose this route within 2-3 years.
Honestly I don't know. Is there any precedent for AHL or AAA players getting signed with brands?
Does it work that well for MLB minor league ball players?
I’m going to sound like a pompous d-bag here, but the last two years, I got to spend time at both Duke and Kansas and see things behind the scenes. I’ll say this, if I’m a top tier kid that falls into this realm, I’m going to a blueblood (with an insurance policy in my back pocket). I’ll reach out to Malik Newman and see if he had this option, what he would have done.
To clarify why I think it will cost them in long-term earning potential. The huge benefit of going to a blue-blood is exposure and generation of brand. That is where the value is for the endorsement deals, is investing in an established brand. The G-league is never going to generate that exposure and brand-building opportunities. Instead it is more likely that the big apparel companies hold off on major endorsements deals, because essentially they are betting on the player making it big, with little exposure or benefit in the short-intermediate term.Look at HE as an example. If he had gone this route, he would have never gotten drafted in the lottery and turned it into a big first contract. He would have been paid $125k, gotten likely little or no endorsement money, and turned it into a career in the G-league making likely near the minimum for the remainder of his career.
So are these players drafted in the NBA draft but only allowed to play in the G League for their first year or...?If I'm an NBA team, do I really want to pay a kid $125K, develop him, and then see a different team draft him the next draft?