Soon-to-be BYU freshman AJ Dybansta is already among the highest-paid collegiate athletes with a bevy of endorsements and replaces Cooper Flagg as the face of college basketball
Consensus top 2026 draft prospect AJ Dybansta has climbed to the top of On3’s NIL list amongst college basketball players: his $4.1 valuation only trails football stars like Texas QB Arch Manning. A recent NCAA settlement eliminating the “amateurism” element of college sports will only allow players to earn more money.
He’ll inherit the title of 2025 National Player of the Year Cooper Flagg, poised to become the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks after the team shockingly won the draft lottery with just a 1.8% chance of winning. .
Dybansta shocked many by opting for BYU as his one-and-done destination before jumping to the NBA. He’ll be compensated generously for his freshman year, with reporters claiming the teenager is set to earn north of $7 million from the Cougars next year.
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Dybansta already has over 500,000 followers on Instagram and has deals with Nike, Red Bull, and META. “I think it’ll be a great partnership because it’ll be beneficial to both of us with the platform that they have,” he said last fall on his deal with Red Bull. “I think we fit right in with each other, so it’s going to be special.”
“[The talks] started a few months ago, but what they had to offer was second-to-none. It was good [the offer] has no real wrongs. I’m smart with it, my parents are smart with it: we don’t want to take every deal,” Dybansta admitted.
“But, the smart ones we have to take advantage of. If I’m projected where I’m supposed to be and I keep my head down and work, I will get way bigger and better deals, so I’m not trying to take fast money right now.”
Dybansta grew up in Boston before receiving million-dollar invitations from the biggest programs in the country — the likes of Monteverde — to join for high school
Instead, he accepted Utah Prep’s $600,000 deal. Then, Dybansta shocked many by turning down a buffet of blue blood programs for BYU, a program that hasn’t reached the Elite Eight since 1981.
“A lot stood out on my visit,” Dybansta admitted on ‘First Take.; “[BYU coach Kevin Young] coached my favorite player of all time, Kevin Durant. And [Durant] had high praise about him.”
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Young signed a seven-year, $30 million deal with the Cougars in 2024 after serving as the Phoenix Suns’ associate head coach from 2021 to 2024.
“I think it’s going to be the best development program for me, he added. “They have an NBA staff, all the way down to the dietitian, strength coach, analytics guy. And my ultimate goal is to go to the NBA. Why not surround myself [with those resources] a year early?”