Word leaked last month that BYU was in the business of offering small forward AJ Dybantsa $3 million-$4 million in name, image and likeness (NIL) riches that would land the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025 in Provo. The Cougars apparently weren’t the only ones. Along with BYU, Kansas and Kansas State are also considered main pursuers of Dybantsa.
Never mind that figure perhaps being the largest for any college basketball player to date, it didn’t make basketball sense.
“Four million [for one player]?,” an administrator for a blue-blood program said, “Then you play with four dogs.”
The obvious meaning: there wouldn’t be enough money left in just about any revenue-sharing pie to surround Dybantsa with meaningful complementary players.
The assertion is the latest example of guerilla budgeting going on as the revenue sharing era approaches. Assuming the House v. NCAA settlement will be formally approved in April…