AJ Dybantsa, the country’s number-one high school player in the country and arguably the biggest college basketball signing in Brigham Young University’s history, leads all of college basketball in NIL valuation: an estimated $4.1 million value, according to Athlon Sports.
The 6’9 Dybantsa is reportedly the first male basketball athlete to be sponsored by Red Bull and is signed by Nike in a multi-million dollar deal. He has denied rumors of a $7 million contract with BYU.
BYU is now projected to contend with the defending conference champions, the University of Houston, for the Big 12 title. Regardless of how BYU’s season goes, Dybantsa has already indicated that he will declare for the NBA draft at the end of his freshman year.
“He’s what the NBA is looking for. Wings with legitimate size that understand the game can create offense and then, in theory, can guard multiple guys,” an NBA front office executive told The Athletic.
Dybantsa seemed unconcerned with the exact value of his deals in January when he told the outlet that his deals more or less were executed by his father.
“People just gonna talk, but I (didn’t) even know how much I’m getting. They just
tell my dad all of that. I’m trying to make it to the NBA, so wherever they can get me the fastest there with the best development, there’s a whole lot of pillars that come with it. Money’s going to come if I do the work, so I’m not worried about the money in a year,” Dybantsa said.An example of his aversion to chasing a bag just to chase a bag is his NIL deal with the prep academy Utah Prep, where he signed a $600,000 deal to finish his high school career. He had a more lucrative offer from Florida’s more prestigious Montverde Academy.
“Montverde, we can use them as an example, I’m trying to show people you don’t have to go to a school like that to accomplish certain things,” Dybantsa said. “They’re a great school, and they’ve got the most league guys from high school. So, there’s no knock going there. But you don’t have to go to a school like that.
“You don’t want to just sign with somebody,” he added. “You want to be partners with them. There’s a lot more to an offer than just money. People only see the money part of it,
but it’s not just about money. I’m not gonna change. They might. There are some people I know that become famous and change their whole personality. They want to have this lavish lifestyle, but I just stick to who I am, and I think people mess with that.”RELATED CONTENT: Why NIL Deals Have More Brands Investing In College Athletes Over Pros, And Women Athletes’ Dominance In The Arena