Highest Paid College Basketball Players (2024)

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Posted by Rookie Road Staff

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In June of 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA was no longer allowed to prevent education-related payments to students, which changed college sports forever.This paved the way for NIL deals, which allowed college athletes to profit on their own name, image, and likeness through endorsem*nts and brand deals. A combination of a strong social media following off the court, and good play on the court can result in players receiving millions of dollars in NIL deals per season.

Who Are the Highest-Paid College Basketball Players Right Now?

1. Bronny James - $5.8 million
2. Angel Reese - $1.7 million
3. Hansel Enmanuel - $1.2 million
4. Flau'jae Johnson - $1.1 million
5. Jared McCain - $1 million
6. RJ Davis - $892,000
7. Haley Cavinder - $868,000
8. Hunter Dickinson - $847,000
9. Caitlin Clark - $818,000
10. Zach Edey - $815,000

1. Bronny James

Bronny James is currently the highest paid college basketball player, with an estimated NIL value of $5.8 million.The son of NBA legend LeBron James, Bronny spent four years as a dominant point guard at Sierra Canyon School (SCS) in Los Angeles, California. For his efforts, he was even named a McDonald's All-American in 2023.

Bronny’s long-anticipated college commitment came in May of 2023, where he announced he would play college basketball at USC. Most of the young athlete’s wealth comes from endorsem*nt deals with Nike, Beats by Dre, and Fast X.

2. Angel Reese

Angel Reese is currently the highest paid female collegiate basketball player, making an estimated $1.7 million annually in NIL deals.Though she started her collegiate career at the University of Maryland, Reese flourished as a power forward for the LSU Tigers. In 2023, she led the team to an NCAA Tournament championship win and was voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She also has over five million followers across social media platforms.

3. Hansel Enmanuel

Hansel Enmanuel is the third-highest-earning college basketball player, with an NIL value of $1.2 million.Enmanuel, who was born with no left arm, is from the Dominican Republic and attends Northwestern State University.He has amassed 1.6 million Instagram followers and 2.7 million TikTok followers, much from his high school basketball highlight videos going viral.

Fans across the world were inspired by Enmanuel’s story as well as his ridiculous athletic ability. Enmanuel has deals with major companies such as Adidas, Gatorade, T-Mobile, and Dreamer. He famously appeared in commercials for Gatorade and in a commercial for rapper J. Cole’s “Dreamer” collaboration with Puma.

4. Flau'jae Johnson

Flau'jae Johnson is one of the highest earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $1.1 million.Johnson is a sophom*ore standout, combo-guard, at Louisiana State University. She has 3.1 million followers across all platforms.Johnson has endorsem*nt deals with HighlightHER, Puma, Meta, Taco Bell, and POWERHANDZ.Johnson is also a rapper who announced her commitment to LSU in her own song.

5. Jared McCain

Jared McCain is a shooting guard for Duke University who has an NIL value of $1 million.He is one of the most talented players in the 2023 recruiting class and was a five-star recruit out of high school. He was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in California during his senior year of high school and played in the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Game. McCain has NIL deals with major brands, including Crocs and Celsius.

6. RJ Davis

RJ Davis is a star point guard for the University of North Carolina with an NIL valuation of $892,000.Davis has a total of 2.6 million social media followers between his Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) accounts. He has been successful throughout his college career, even helping North Carolina finish as the runner-up in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Davis’ most notable endorsem*nt deal is with grocery brand Simple Truth.

7. Haley Cavinder

Haley Cavinder is a point guard who has previously played for Fresno State University and the University of Miami, and she has an NIL valuation of $868,000. Haley and her twin sister Hanna both played their first three collegiate seasons at Fresno State before transferring to Miami for the 2022-23 season.

After leading the Hurricanes to the Elite 8, the two sisters announced that they were forgoing their final season of eligibility and retiring from basketball. In November of 2023, however, Haley announced that she was changing her mind, and she would be joining Texas Christian University (TCU) for the 2024-25 season. The Cavinder twins are both social media stars, and Haley has 5.3 million followers across all platforms, including 4.5 million followers on TikTok.

8. Hunter Dickinson

Hunter Dickinson is a dominant NCAA center who has an NIL valuation of $847,000. Dickinson has scored over 2,000 points in his collegiate career and his success on the court has paid off with deals from Adidas, Charlie Hustle, and Simple Truth.

Dickinson has amassed a social media following of 74,000 on Instagram and 40,000 on X (formerly Twitter.) Dickinson played three seasons for the Michigan Wolverines before transferring to the Kansas Jayhawks to finish out his time in the NCAA.

9. Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark plays for the University of Iowa and has an NIL value of $818,000.She has spent four seasons as a point guard for the Iowa Hawkeyes and accrued many individual awards, most notably the AP Player of the Year Award and John R. Wooden Award in 2023. Though her team lost to LSU in the 2023 NCAA Tournament Final, Clark remains quite popular on social media and has over a million followers across all platforms.

In 2024, Clark became the all-time leading scorer in Division 1 college basketball history. She first passed Kelsey Plum’s total of 3,527 for the record on the women’s side in a February game against Michigan, and then, she passed Pete Maravich’s overall record total of 3,667 points in a March game against Ohio State.

10. Zach Edey

Zach Edey, a center for the Purdue Boilermakers, is another of the highest-earning college basketball players, with an NIL value of $815,000.Edey, a senior, currently has 50,000 followers on Instagram and 14,400 on Twitter.Edey currently has NIL deals with Purdue, who have released merchandise with his number and made him a member of the Boilermaker Alliance, but he does not have any other current NIL deals.

Honorable Mentions

• Shaqir O’Neal - $812,000
• Dalton Knecht - $783,000
• DaRon Holmes - $770,000
• Robert Dillingham - $765,000
• Paige Bueckers - $652,000
• Caleb Love - $630,000

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