College Basketball Players Who Make the Most NIL Money

Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) money has flowed into college basketball and made the game's biggest stars rich.

College football isn’t the only place where athletes are getting rich off the Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) money flowing into college sports right now — college basketball’s biggest stars are also raking it in.

Plus, what’s unique about college basketball is the big money extends beyond just men’s basketball players. Women’s basketball continues to grow in popularity, and its very best players are also making millions because of their talents on and off the court.

Here’s a look at the college basketball players making the most money off NIL in 2024.

20. Caleb Love, Guard, Arizona — $631,000

Chris Coduto / AP Photo

Born: Sept. 27, 2001 (St. Louis, Missouri)

High school: Christian Brothers College High School (St. Louis, Missouri)

Bottom line: Caleb Love starred at North Carolina for three seasons, including leading the Tar Heels to a national runner-up finish in 2022. After a disastrous 2022-23 season in which UNC went from No. 1 in the nation to not even making the NCAA Tournament, Love entered the transfer portal and committed to Michigan but ultimately flipped to Arizona.

19. Paige Bueckers, Point Guard, UConn — $651,000

Jessica Hill / AP Photo

Born: Oct. 20, 2001 (Edina, Minnesota)

High school: Hopkins High School (Minnetonka, Minnesota)

Bottom line: One of the most heralded high school basketball recruits of all time, UConn point guard Paige Bueckers averaged 20.0 points, 5.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals and shot 46.4 percent on three-pointers as a true freshman on the way to sweeping every major National Player of the Year Award in 2021. Injuries limited Bueckers to just 17 games in 2021-22 and forced her to miss the entire 2022-23 season, but she returned at full health in 2023-24.

18. Armando Bacot, Power Forward, North Carolina — $661,000

Chris Seward / AP Photo

Born: March 6, 2000 (Richmond, Virginia)

High school: St. George’s School (Middletown, Rhode Island)

Bottom line: Armando Bacot helped lead North Carolina to an NCAA runner-up finish in 2022 and is already one of the greatest rebounders in NCAA basketball history, as he’s averaged over 10.0 rebounds per game for his entire career. Bacot, a three-time All-ACC pick, also has an off-the-court flex that might be unmatched on this list with a small speaking part in season three of Netflix’s “Outer Banks” in 2023 — one of the most popular shows in the history of the streaming service.

17. Rob Dillingham, Point Guard, Kentucky — $760,000

Sam Craft / AP Photo

Born: Jan. 4, 2005 (Hickory, North Carolina)

High school: Donda Academy (Simi Valley, California)

Bottom line: Originally committed to playing for North Carolina State, Rob Dillingham opened his recruitment back up at the last second and wound up playing for John Calipari at Kentucky. Dillingham had a circuitous path to college basketball — he played high school basketball in his native North Carolina, at Kanye West’s Donda Academy in California before it shut down and then played for Overtime Elite for his final high school season.

16. Jaedon LeDee, Small Forward, San Diego State — $763,000

Tony Avelar / AP Photo

Born: July 25, 1999 (Houston, Texas)

High school: The Kinkaid School (Piney Point Village, Texas)

Bottom line: Jaedon LeDee struggled to find playing time at Ohio State and TCU before transferring to San Diego State in 2022, where the 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward helped lead the Aztecs to the best season in school history and a national runner-up finish. LeDee is one of the oldest players in college basketball — he began his career at Ohio State in 2018.

14. Tyler Kolek, Point Guard, Marquette — $774,000 (Tie)

Morry Gash / AP Photo

Born: March 27, 2001 (Cumberland, Rhode Island)

High school: St. George’s School (Middletown, Rhode Island)

Bottom line: Tyler Kolek was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year at George Mason in 2021 before transferring to Marquette. Kolek was named Big East Player of the Year and an AP All-American in 2023 after he averaged 12.9 points, 7.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals. He also shot 39.8 percent from beyond the three-point line.

14. Tristen Newton, Point Guard, UConn — $774,000 (Tie)

Jessica Hill / AP Photo

Born: April 26, 2001 (Pensacola, Florida)

High school: Burges High School (El Paso, Texas)

Bottom line: Tristen Newton starred at East Carolina for three seasons before transferring to UConn before the 2022-23 season, where he became the first Husky in program history to post multiple triple-doubles and led his school to the NCAA championship. Newton briefly put his name in for the 2023 NBA Draft but ultimately decided to return to school, largely influenced by UConn’s large NIL coffers.

13. David Jones, Small Forward, Memphis — $781,000

Nikki Boertman / AP Photo

Born: Nov. 24, 2001 (Dominican Republic)

High school: Teays Valley Christian School (Teays Valley, West Virginia)

Bottom line: After a standout performance for the Dominican Republic at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup, David Jones moved to the U.S. to attend high school and burnish his basketball future. Jones has had a winding college career — Memphis is his third college in three seasons after playing for DePaul in 2021-22 and St. John’s in 2022-23.

12. Caitlin Clark, Point Guard, Iowa — $794,000

Michael Conroy / AP Photo

Born: Jan. 22, 2002 (Des Moines, Iowa)

High school: Dowling Catholic High School (West Des Moines, Iowa)

Bottom line: Few basketball players — men or women — have taken over the NCAA Tournament and captured the public’s imagination like Iowa’s Caitlin Clark did in 2023. As Clark led the Hawkeyes to an NCAA runner-up finish, her NIL value shot through the roof. Clark has led the nation in scoring each of the last two seasons and is averaging 27.2 points for her career. She also swept every major National Player of the Year Award in 2023, is already a three-time All-American and looks like a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

11. Kyle Filipowski, Center, Duke — $795,000

Michael Caterina / AP Photo

Born: Nov. 7, 2003 (Middletown, New York)

High school: Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Wilbraham, Massachusetts)

Bottom line: Duke center Kyle Filipowski had a breakout season in 2022-23, as he averaged 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds as a freshman on the way to being named ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC and ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player. The 7-foot center with forward skills could have been a first-round pick in the NBA Draft in 2023 but elected to return for another season.

10. Kevin McCullar Jr., Shooting Guard, Kansas — $798,000

Reed Hoffmann / AP Photo

Born: March 15, 2001 (San Antonio, Texas)

High school: Karen Wagner High School (San Antonio, Texas)

Bottom line: The son of former Texas Tech linebacker Kevin McCullar Sr., Kevin McCullar Jr. played three seasons at Texas Tech and was an All-Big 12 pick in 2022 before transferring to conference rival Kansas for his final two seasons. McCullar filled up the stat sheet in his first season with the Jayhawks — he averaged 10.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 2.1 assists on the way to being named All-Big 12 and Big 12 All-Defensive Team in 2023.

9. Shaqir O’Neal, Forward, Texas Southern — $813,000

Justin Rex / AP Photo

Born: April 19, 2003 (Los Angeles, California)

High school: Union Grove High School (McDonough, Georgia)

Bottom line: The son of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, Shaqir O’Neal’s high NIL value is due more to his famous family than his skills on a basketball court. Shaqir averaged just 1.4 points as a redshirt freshman at Texas Southern in 2022-23 and was averaging just 2.4 points midway through the 2023-24 season. He does, however, have over 4 million followers on social media — which is worth big bucks.

8. Zach Edey, Center, Purdue — $814,000

Michael Conroy / AP Photo

Born: May 14, 2002 (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

High school: IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida)

Bottom line: Purdue center Zach Edey is one of the tallest players in college basketball history at 7-foot-4 and had a breakout season in 2022-23, as he was named Big Ten Player of the Year, consensus AP All-American and National College Player of the Year. While Edey seems like a lock to be drafted to play in the NBA, he decided to return for another season to improve his draft stock — and to cash in on money from Purdue’s well-organized NIL collectives.

7. Hunter Dickinson, Center, Kansas — $847,000

Reed Hoffmann / AP Photo

Born: Nov. 25, 2000 (Alexandria, Virginia)

High school: DeMatha Catholic High School (Hyattsville, Maryland)

Bottom line: NIL money played a large part in luring Hunter Dickinson to Kansas after the 7-foot-2 center was a three-time All-Big Ten pick and AP All-American at Michigan. Dickinson averaged 17.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in three seasons with the Wolverines and could be the difference for Kansas in its pursuit of a third national championship under head coach Bill Self.

6. Haley Cavinder, Point Guard, TCU — $863,000

Darron Cummings / AP Photo

Born: Jan. 13, 2001 (South Bend, Indiana)

High school: Gilbert High School (Gilbert, Arizona)

Bottom line: Haley Cavinder is sitting out the 2023-24 season but will return to play for TCU in 2024-25, which will be her third college stop after previous stints at Fresno State and Miami. She earns a tremendous amount of money on endorsements thanks to her social media success alongside her identical twin sister Hannah … but this girl can ball. At Fresno State, Cavinder was the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year in 2021 and a three-time All-MWC pick. At Miami, she made the All-ACC Team in 2023.

5. Jared McCain, Shooting Guard, Duke — $1 Million

Michael Caterina / AP Photo

Born: Feb. 20, 2004 (Sacramento, California)

High school: Centennial High School (Corona, California)

Bottom line: California native and Duke freshman guard Jared McCain was already past 2 million followers on his social media accounts by the time he got to college. And he already seems like a player who could head to the NBA after one season.

4. Flau’jae Johnson, Guard, LSU — $1.1 Million

Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo

Born: Nov. 3, 2003 (Savannah, Georgia)

High school: Sprayberry High School (Marietta, Georgia)

Bottom line: Helping lead LSU to a national championship as a freshman in 2023 wasn’t Flau’jae Johnson’s first brush with fame — the up-and-coming rapper was featured on the Lifetime reality show “The Rap Game” when she was 13 years old and appeared on “America’s Got Talent” when she was 14 years old. Johnson, the 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year, seems like she is just beginning to tap into her NIL potential and already has deals with Puma, Meta and Taco Bell.

3. Hansel Enmanuel, Guard, Austin Peay — $1.2 Million

Nikki Boertman / AP Photo

Born: Oct. 24, 2003 (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

High school: Life Christian Academy (Kissimmee, Florida)

Bottom line: Hansel Enmanuel was just 6 years old when his left arm was crushed by a cinder block and had to be amputated — but somehow, he still became a star basketball player and went viral in 2021 for his dunking ability. Enmanuel played his first season at Northwestern State and then followed head coach Corey Gipson to Austin Peay after one season. Enmanuel has some of the most lucrative NIL deals in college sports, including ones with Gatorade and Banreservas, a financial institution in his native Dominican Republic.

2. Angel Reese, Forward, LSU — $1.7 Million

Matthew Hinton / AP Photo

Born: May 6, 2002 (Randallstown, Maryland)

High school: Saint Frances Academy (Baltimore, Maryland)

Bottom line: Angel Reese spent the first two seasons of her college basketball career at Maryland before transferring to play for LSU and head coach Kim Mulkey. Reese became a household name during the 2023 NCAA Tournament, as she helped lead LSU to the national championship and cashed in big with NIL money. It looks like she’ll be a future WNBA star as well.

1. Bronny James, Guard, USC — $5.9 Million

Amanda Loman / AP Photo

Born: Oct. 6, 2004 (Akron, Ohio)

High school: Sierra Canyon School (Los Angeles, California)

Bottom line: The oldest son of NBA superstar LeBron James, USC guard Bronny James is the most bankable college athlete when it comes to NIL — heads and tails above even the most marketable college football players by millions of dollars. A life-threatening heart condition delayed Bronny’s start to playing college basketball, but he returned to the USC lineup in December 2023.