OKLAHOMA CITY — “I want you to just take off and go kamikaze.”

NFL contracts have always been streamlined and at the fingertips of a coach like Bill Belichick. But the former Patriot is learning that navigating NIL is a very different challenge. For a coach who came from a league full of rules, there’s currently a noticeable lack of them when it comes to recruiting in the NCAA.

When we think of Belichick, we think of many traits and attributes. But perhaps the most noticeable of all his quirks is how meticulous he is about his ways. When you’re 73, you eventually grow accustomed to doing things a certain way.

However, a recent interview with Rece Davis suggests that Belichick hasn’t yet figured out the rules of NIL. It’s been an interesting navigation process for him, mostly filled with questions and trying to understand his parameters.

“For me, it’s really pretty simple. Tell me what the rules are, and then we’ll play by them. Right now, a lot of it’s up in the air,” Belichick shared on ESPN College Football.

“Once the house settlement’s done, once some rules are solidified, and honestly, it’ll probably take a year for this to settle in and see how things go. There’ll be some adjustments made.”

It definitely still feels like the Wild Wild West when it comes to the current state of NIL. At the moment, there’s no standardized set of rules—at least at the federal level. That’s why the NCAA has called on lawmakers to establish a uniform framework around it.

But with the amount of issues going on in the world right now, mixed with other factors like convenience and timeliness, NIL doesn’t seem like it’s going to be sorted out anytime soon. At least, not for another 2-3 years. 

Yet, Belichick doesn’t seem to care about what the rules are going to be for it. He simply wants to know what they are so that he can legally operate his UNC Tar Heels football team.

“I’d say right now, it’s a lot of ‘we’re not sure, we’ll have to wait and see.’ Some people view it one way, some people view it another way. You just have to come to an agreement on that. But I think things will settle eventually,” Belichick concluded.

It’s not exactly what fans of college football want to hear. Complaints surrounding Ohio State and Oregon’s ability to essentially pay for their football rosters drew the ire of many this past season. And with no rules on how much you can give to players, it’s become a contest of popularity, and who has the highest NIL payroll.

For Belichick, this must be tough to navigate. In the NFL, there was a free agency period, and every team had a hard salary cap they couldn’t exceed. It was a much clearer and more defined set of rules… and fairer, too.

But now in college, who knows how much NIL payroll UNC has to offer? Furthermore, who knows how much they’re allowed to spend, when they can spend it, or how much more other schools have? That’s information privy to very few. Belichick certainly has access to some of it, but it must still be difficult to fully grasp.

It’ll be interesting to continue tracking how Bill adjusts to college football. The product on the field may be similar, but off it, it’s a whole different ballgame. That’s what he’s learning day by day.

One of the more underrated stories in the NBA Draft each year is the withdrawal of candidates who initially test the draft-class waters but pull back before the actual show for various reasons. Draft withdrawals can affect any team selecting below the premium lottery positions. This year that includes the Portland Trail Blazers.

Ricky O’Donnell of SB Nation has written about draft withdrawals this year. A partial list of players who stood a good chance of being drafted if they hadn’t withdrawn include Miles Byrd, Alex Condon, Boogie Fland, Karter Knox, Yaxel Lendeborg, Tahaad Pettiford, Labaron Philon, Milos Uzan, and Darrion Williams. None of these players projected to be a lottery pick, but Lendeborg and Pettiford for example were mocked pretty often as solid first round picks, while others were seen as late first round to early second round prospects.

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If it wasn’t clear already, it’s now unmistakable that NIL money is persuading many players to stay in the college ranks when previously they would have given the NBA draft a shot. Just 106 players registered as early entry candidates initially, a number now further reduced due to withdrawals. Compare that 2021, the last draft before NIL. 353 players registered that year. The total has declined every year since.

The numbers are a bit murky on how much exactly specific players are getting, but top player Cooper Flagg is said to have pulled down over $4 million this past season. We do know aggregate information; the average NIL amount from 8/1/2024 to 4/20/2025 was $53,643, but the median was just $3,371. This means that the top players were getting the lion’s share of NIL money. Just 9% of the players earned more than $10,000. Presumably multiple potential NBA draftees would lie in that top 9%.

If you get drafted this year at #25 in the first round, your salary is pegged at $2,983,320. Let’s say you slip into the second round. Your salary is no longer set by your draft position. You may be offered the NBA minimum of $1.27 million. Or perhaps a two-way contract at half that amount. Of course, there is also the risk that you get drafted and simply don’t make the team. Or not get drafted at all.

Instead, you get two huge advantages by going back to school. First, you’re now eligible to make as much NIL money was you would have gotten in the NBA if you would have been drafted in the first round outside of the lottery. If you were pegged to go in the second round, you’d make more. That’s money in the bank with no worry of slipping on draft day or getting cut. Second, you have the opportunity to raise your stock, and that can pay off big time. If you can go from #25 now to #10 next year you will more than double your yearly salary every year of your rookie contract. Suddenly waiting another year could make significant economic sense.

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While none of the withdrawals were players that the Blazers presumably were scouting to pick at #11, they could have an impact both in the short and long term. If the Blazers had been entertaining trading down, the player pool below #11 has now been weakened. On the other hand, the value of pick #11 may have gone up. If you are the Orlando Magic picking at #25, you might have had your eye one of the players who have withdrawn, and you might not like the remaining options. Maybe that gives you an incentive to try to trade up, making the picks above them more valuable.

Another dynamic might play out in the years to come. With so many quality players staying out of the draft, we might get some stronger drafts in the future. The number of players declaring for the draft won’t continue to go down forever; sooner or later players delaying the draft will start coming out and the numbers will start rebounding. If players are staying in college longer, they are more developed and mature, closer perhaps to the NBA player they are destined to become. The first-round pick in 2029 and pick swaps in 2028 and 2030 acquired from the Bucks in the Damian Lillard trade might yield players who are ready to contribute right away, hopefully at a time when some of the current Blazers are at the height of their powers.

It’s all part of the calculations the Blazers front office is making right now. It’s not just about who the best player might be to take at #11, but also the value in potentially trading that pick, especially if such a deal could add draft assets for a future, potentially deeper draft.

More from blazersedge.com:

Cooper Flagg’s Stunning Duke NIL Earnings Revealed originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

During his lone season with the Duke Blue Devils, former No. 1 overall recruit Cooper Flagg lived up to the billing as the next great American prospect.

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Although he and the Blue Devils fell in the Final Four to eventual runner-up Houston Cougars, Flagg led Duke in all five major statistical categories en route to a 35-4 record. In addition to being named ACC Player of the Year, Flagg also became the ninth Duke player to be named Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year.

Aside from prospering on the court, many fans likely assumed that Flagg was compensated quite well off of it, thanks to his Name, Image and Likeness earning potential. Although it’s not always an exact number, his NIL Valuation according to On3 was a staggering $4.8 million. A mark that only trailed Texas quarterback and nephew of Peyton Manning, Arch Manning.

However, as revealed during an interview with Bob Costas by insider and author Howard Bryant, Flagg’s earnings were significantly higher than the estimated numbers.

After initially asking Costas how much money he thought Flagg brought in during his lone season in Durham, Bryant answered his own question with a jaw-dropping figure. As a result of Flagg inking monster deals with New Balance and Fanatics, he was bringing in at least $28 million on the year.

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“He had a $13 million deal with New Balance and then $15 million with Fanatics,” Bryant said.

A staggering mark, considering an April report revealed that at least eight teams in college basketball will spend over $10 million on their entire roster for next season.

While around $30 million is chump change by any means, Flagg’s earnings will more than double following next month’s NBA Draft. Flagg has been projected to be the top pick for over a year, and now that the Dallas Mavericks have the pick, the safest assumption in the world is that he will be heading to the Lone Star State. According to Spotrac, the No. 1 pick is set to sign a four-year deal worth nearly $63 million.

Turns out being a generational basketball prospect pays quite well, who knew?

Related: Cooper Flagg Makes Big Career Move Before NBA Draft

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 31, 2025, where it first appeared.