[Cactus Jack]

Did he?  He could have made millions at UK in NIL, been a UK legend, that would have made him more money lifetime, than a one big contract NBA run that he never sees the court.

He has four years of eligibility, five tops.

He had to go to school his freshman year and got that NIL money, so he's actually only getting three years if you are comparing.

Plus once everyone has one piece of his merchandise, they're much less likely to buy another.

I can't see any way that he makes $20+ million in three years. Flagg is projected to make about $6 per, but you only have to pay him once. Same for Dybantsa and his projected $3.8 per. Those are and have been the projected #1 picks in their class for some time.

If Kentucky did pay him something that gets even close to $5-7 per, he definitely wouldn't be going to the NBA because the lack of NIL money for everyone else means that the team is terrible.

All that and what you can do if you are smart with saving and investing the (at least) $20 million he's guaranteed to make over the next 2 years versus taking over a decade to even sniff that number makes it a no-brainer.