5 former NCAA Basketball players who would've benefitted from NIL rules

NCAA Basketball: Top 5 former players who would’ve benefitted from new NIL rules

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 05: Detail view of a Wilson basketball during the National Championship game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Baylor Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 05, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Basketball (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Well, if you haven’t heard by now, as of July 1st, 2021, NCAA athletes are allowed to profit off of their name, image, and likeness, opening the door to sponsorships and endorsements and turning the page over to a new age of college athletics.

This is something that many have been fighting for, for a very long time, and now it is finally here, college athletes are allowed to make money through sponsorships. We have seen a lot of players in the past who would’ve made a TON of money had these new rules been in place when they were at school.

Whether it be the following they had coming into college, the following they gained while in college, or even just one singular moment that they could’ve turned into a ton of money.

Singular moments that come to mind were the Kris Jenkins shot to win the National Championship for Villanova in 2016, Kemba Walker’s shot to win the Big East Tournament in 2011, Austin Rivers’ shot to beat UNC in 2012, Christian Laettner’s shot against Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight to send Duke to the Final Four as they would then go onto win the National Championship, plus a plethora of other moments.

I mean imagine how much money Nathan Bain would’ve made after making a buzzer-beating layup to beat then, number one ranked Duke, in Cameron Indoor in 2019, Duke’s first home loss to a non-conference team since 2000, and their first home loss to an unranked non-conference team since 1983.

In addition to that, it later came out that Bain’s family lost everything when a category-five hurricane ripped through the Bahamas, and a gofundme was created to support his family, and over $151,000 was raised. Imagine the sponsorships and endorsements Bain might’ve gotten right after this and how much money he could’ve made.

Nonetheless, NCAA athletes are now officially allowed to profit off of their name, image, and likeness, something that should’ve happened a long time ago, but it is something that is finally here. So who are a couple of former College Basketball players who would’ve profited off of this most?

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