In Reply to: Must be a lot more NIL money in Texas posted by traprh on April 09, 2025 at 12:12:10
He is projected to be around the 15th choice in the draft. If he passes up the draft for $4 million, he's gambling that he will be a higher choice next year because the NBA rookie scale for the 15th choice is a guaranteed $4 million for each of the first two seasons with team options for another $5 million and then $7 million for a possible $20 million his first four seasons.
If he stays in school for $4 million and gets drafted 15th the next season at the same rate, he makes around $17-18 million the next four seasons. So he would just have to move up a few spots to get about the same money. But if he moves into the top-10, he could be making a lot more than that. However, by staying in school for another year, he would reach NBA free agency a year later which could affect his long term earnings.
So the bottom line is that the $4 million could certainly be worth it to return to school, assuming he has a great year and plays well enough in the NBA to have a long career.