Cooper Flagg’s wallet might be more stuffed than his stat sheet.
In a recent sit-down with Bob Costas, longtime sports journalist Howard Bryant revealed that Flagg cleared over $28 million in NIL deals while at Duke his freshman year. The figure, which far surpasses On3’s original $4.8 million evaluation of Flagg’s earnings, solicited gasps from a live audience.
Both deals, signed on unreleased terms, have been reported to cover one NIL year and follow Flagg into the NBA. It’s possible that he has already earned the specified figures, but they likely represent the totality of his multi-year contracts. Either way, Flagg remains one of the highest-paid players in college sports.
The Newport, Maine, native signed his NIL deal with New Balance in August 2024. According to Boardroom, Flagg and his family met with several brand representatives offering “north of seven figures per year” before inking a contract with the Boston-based company. Fanatics then announced an “exclusive, multi-year” deal with the freshman in January 2025, including memorabilia and trading cards.
Prior to the start of the 2024-25 regular season, Duke’s 6-foot-9 phenom became the first NCAA men’s basketball player to sign an NIL deal with Gatorade. Contracts with Cort Furniture, The NIL Store and AT&T round out his portfolio so far.
Flagg is also looking at big bucks in the professional leagues. According to Sportrac, the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft will likely sign a four-year contract of roughly $62.7 million, with $13.8 million arriving in the first year. Flagg is largely expected to go first overall with the Dallas Mavericks, who won the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery. He will remain able to supplement that income with his current brand deals and any future ones.
In his sole season with the Blue Devils, Flagg earned national player of the year honors, the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy. He led Duke to the Final Four while averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.
The Monteverde Academy product isn’t the only Blue Devil cashing in on hefty NIL sums. On3’s top-100 valuation list estimates incoming quarterback Darian Mensah’s deals at $2.8 million, with freshman forward Cameron Boozer not far behind at $1.5 million.
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