NIL

The Shrinking NBA Draft Pool

Since the NCAA allowed athletes to cash in on NIL (name, image, and likeness), the number of basketball players declaring early for the NBA draft has steadily declined. In 2021, 363 players—including international players and NCAA athletes—entered their names. This year, the total has dropped to 106 players, the fewest since 2016. Fifty-one “non-international” players […]

Published

2 weeks ago

June 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The opportunity to earn money in college gives players leverage they’ve never had before when negotiating with NBA teams. Agents are advising many players to remain in college due to the NIL earnings—and new revenue-sharing dollars from the House v. NCAA settlement—two agents tell Front Office Sports.

“If you are not a guaranteed first-round pick, top-20, top-30 guy—unless you really do not want to play college basketball anymore, we are recommending and most of them are staying in school as long as they possibly can,” Michael Raymond, president and founder of Raymond Representation, tells FOS.

For those with little to no chance of making an NBA roster, the calculus is obvious. But even for players on the bubble of being a first-round pick, eschewing the draft is often the best option.

In the pre-NIL era, players would be happy to settle for two-way contracts, or Exhibit 10s, with no guarantee they’d be chosen in the second round. NBA two-way contracts max out around $600,000, and straight G League deals start at around $40,500. They weren’t making any money in college, and the allure of professional life was just too great.

But now, the NIL earnings are more than enough of a fallback in case they aren’t getting drafted. To remain competitive, a power conference program would have had to spend about $3 million to $4 million in aggregate to remain competitive, a source previously told FOS. That’s an average of a healthy six figures for each of the 13 scholarship players. And the top players in the country, often those vying for these NBA roster spots, are often making seven figures. The freedom of movement provided by the transfer portal allows athletes to negotiate for more earnings, too.

“Unless [an NBA team] was willing to guarantee a spot, there’s no way that I’m playing with the kid’s future,” Alex Saratsis, Octagon’s co-managing director of basketball, tells FOS.

This past spring, UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg was dubbed one of the best big men available in the NCAA transfer portal. He committed to Michigan, a power conference program with major resources, while also declaring for the NBA draft, where he was projected to be a late first-round pick. He ultimately withdrew from the draft at the end of May, and he will play his last year in college for the Wolverines.

Mar 12, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Markus Burton (3) with head coach Micah Shrewsberry in the first half at Spectrum Center

Lendeborg, who signed with Octagon a few weeks before deciding to stay in Ann Arbor, wasn’t the only one Saratsis represents who made that decision. Notre Dame’s Markus Burton decided not to enter the draft at all and play another year with the Fighting Irish. Greek player Neoklis Avdalas reportedly received a second-round grade after entering the draft and opted to withdraw and commit to Virginia Tech.

“Why would we [advise them to declare] when they’ve got an opportunity to make millions of dollars back in college, continue to prove their game, and take control back in their careers?” Saratsis says.

No decision is without risk, of course. A player who stays in school or transfers could lower their draft stock with an unimpressive season, Raymond says. They could also incur a season-ending, or even career-ending, injury. But the prevailing wisdom is to keep players in school for as long as possible.

That doesn’t mean that one-and-dones are going completely extinct, however.

For a select few players, there’s a clear reason to enter the draft after just one year in the NCAA. Cooper Flagg is the No. 1 projected overall draft pick, slated to go to the Dallas Mavericks, after a sensational freshman year at Duke that ended with a heartbreaking loss to Houston in the Final Four. Flagg was likely making millions of dollars between Duke’s nebulous NIL collective and multiple top-tier brand endorsements. But in his first year in the NBA, he’ll earn about $14 million in his NBA salary alone—on top of all his existing endorsements.

“I think there’s going to be at least five to ten players that probably just say, ‘Listen, at the end of the day, I’m going top 10. I’m going to make millions of dollars. I want to play in the NBA,’” Raymond says.

Outside the obvious lottery picks, some players just “really care about the professional lifestyle,” Raymond says. “They don’t care about the money. It’s more about, like, their dreams to play in the NBA. They want to make it happen as soon as possible.” He points to Bronny James, who wanted to play alongside his dad in Los Angeles, as an example.

But those players will continue to be outliers. This year, schools will be able to pay players directly thanks to the House v. NCAA settlement in addition to NIL. Some have raised concerns that, because there’s a cap on the revenue-sharing pool and new restrictions on NIL collective deals, players might end up making less than they did last year (though not everyone agrees that that would be the case). Either way, it will still pay to stay in college—both literally and figuratively.

Says Saratsis: “It’s almost like you’re taking control of your career.”

Link

NIL

Ranking all 12 of Georgia football’s opponents based on difficulty

Georgia football is only eight weeks away from the beginning of their 2025 season. It likely won’t surprise anyone to find out that UGA once again has one of the more difficult schedules not only in the SEC, but in the entire country. But how difficult will it be? Let’s take a look at all […]

Published

52 minutes ago

July 7, 2025

Your Sports Nation

But how difficult will it be?

Let’s take a look at all 12 games for Kirby Smart and Georgia this season and rank them by how easy or difficult they will be.

Guaranteed Wins

Georgia’s 2025 non-conference schedule is much easier than it typically is this season. Most years the Bulldogs have two difficult non-conference games, but that is not the case this year.

It essentially will be impossible for UGA to lost three of their four non-conference games, so they all deserve to be put in the “guaranteed wins” category. There are a few SEC games this season Georgia will be massive favorites in as well, but they will fall in the next category as anything is possible on any given day in the SEC.

1. Austin Peay Governors

2. Charlotte 49ers

3. Marshall Thundering Herd

High Chance of Winning

As mentioned, there are a couple SEC games that Georgia will be huge favorites in. Georgia will be such big favorites in the below two games that it once again would be shocking for this game to even be close.

4. Kentucky Wildcats

5. @ Mississippi State Bulldogs

Typically once every season there is a game that Georgia should win easily but they end up finding themselves in a tough battle. Last year that occurred when Georgia barely scraped by Kentucky on the road 13-12. So there is a good shot that happens in one of these games, but there is a greater than 90 percent change Georgia walks away with a win in both of these games.

Games Georgia Should Win

Next up are four games that Georgia will be favorites in, but they very easily could lose them.

6. Ole Miss Rebels

7. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Atlanta)

8. Florida Gators (Jacksonville)

9. @ Auburn Tigers

Ole Miss will once again have a solid team, potentially a little better than Georgia Tech, but UGA will be looking for revenge against the Rebels after their loss last season. So out of these four games, this is the one Georgia most likely will win.

Georgia Tech is a scary game for the Bulldogs this season because they arguably should have lost to Tech last season in Athens. Thankfully this game will be at a neutral site this season so that will make Georgia’s life a little easier, but UGA will be in danger of being upset against the Yellow Jackets.

Lastly there is Florida and Auburn who will do anything they possible can to finally get a win over Georgia. UGA will be favored against both teams, but both the Gators and Tigers will be better than last season and can definitely win this game.

Toss Ups

Last but not least are the three games that will define Georgia’s season. More likely than not Georgia will win the previous nine games mentioned, so these final three matchups will determine if UGA makes it to Atlanta to play for an SEC Championship and how they are positioned in the College Football Playoff.

10. @ Tennessee Volunteers

11. Alabama Crimson Tide

12. Texas Longhorns

Tennessee losing star quarterback Nico Iamaleave will really hurt them this year, but the Vols still have plenty of talent all over the field. Sure Georgia has found a lot of success against Tennessee over the last decade, but no UGA fan will be able to say their matchup week three in Knoxville will be easy.

Georgia also has to worry about Alabama and Texas coming to Athens this season as well. Georgia is fortunate that they get to play their two most difficult opponents at home, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy. In fact, both Alabama and Texas could potentially be favored when they make their trip to Athens this season.

Georgia fans should be over the moon if UGA can find a way to win two of these three games. If that occurs then Georgia likely will be playing for an SEC Championship while also earning one of the top seeds in the College Football Playoff.

Link

NIL

Ranking the Five Most Exciting Syracuse Players To Use in College Football 26

Share Tweet Share Share Email Today, July 7 at noon EST, marks the early release of College Football 26. Its predessecor, the College Football 25 video game, made over $1.5 billion and became the hottest game of 2025. This success allowed for a larger pot for player payments (An $1000 increase for each player), and […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 7, 2025

Your Sports Nation