Cooper Flagg talks NIL, Finances and New Partnership
The number is $28 million.
According to a report that surfaced earlier this month, that is the amount of money that Cooper Flagg earned in NIL deals during his one year at Duke.
Fast-forward to Wednesday night, when Flagg was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. The 2025 Naismith Award winner, which is given to the top player in college basketball, is projected to make upwards of $62 million on his rookie deal over the next four years. If Flagg lives up to his billing as a generational talent, it's possible his second contract could be more than $350 million, while that figure for his third contract might be north of $500 million, according to projections from Spotrac.
Those are staggering numbers, and it could result in Flagg becoming the first North American athlete to earn $1 billion in on-court earnings. So, what is Flagg's plan to manage that type of money?
On Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours after he was selected at the top pick in the draft, Flagg announced a new partnership with Chime, kicking off a long-term collaboration rooted in financial success. To kick off the partnership, Flagg and his mother, Kelly, will star in the latest episode of "Mama, I Made It" — an original YouTube series that highlights the real stories behind success through the lens of the moms who helped shape it.
We caught up with Flagg ahead of his announcement to discuss his new partnership, as well as his experience as a high-profile athlete in the new-look NIL world of college athletics.
Tell me about your new partnership with Chime and what led to your decision to enter this partnership?
"It's big for me. Obviously, I've been making money for a little while now. It started when I got to college and I think the partnership just really makes sense. I'm trying to learn about money, and Chime is a great tool that I can use to help teach me about finances."
This partnership with debut in the "Mama I Made It" series. After talking with you, I know that your mom plays a big role in your life. Can you talk about the role she has played in your career as a role model and beyond that?
"My mom has been a huge role model. She was one of my first influences of everything and anything, specifically basketball. She played Division I herself at the University of Maine and she put a ball in my hands early.
As far as finances, as I started to get more and more attention, she's been really important when it comes to handling everything and putting a good system in place. She's been there every step of the way and that has helped me navigate everything."
How involved are you personally with some of your financial decisions when it comes to NIL dollars (and now NBA dollars) and how much of a role do your mom, family and advisors play in that?
"I have a team that helps me out with everything as far as finances. My mom is the main person that it all goes through. As far as myself, it's kind of up to me what I want to know and what I want to learn. I've learned a lot from my mom as I've gone through this because of how important she's been with handling everything and putting important systems in place. It's been a learning curve for both of us."
Let's go back to the "Mama, I Made It" series where this partnership will debut. We talked about your mom, but what does the phrase "I Made It" mean to you?
"For me, it's about being in a place where I'm in a very good spot financially. I've been blessed with a lot of good opportunities, but it's about being prepared for the moment and having systems in place and being ready to handle everything that's being thrown my way."
What's been the most eye-opening thing for you when it comes to navigating this new-age NIL world of college athletics?
"The biggest part is just trying to balance it all. It can demand a lot of time, and you can get lost and focused on that. But having systems in place and a team that is around to help me go through everything and make everything easier for me has been huge and just lets me focus on basketball."
One thing that really stands out in the NIL space is how many big dollar numbers and arbitrary reports are thrown out there when it comes to NIL earnings. Do you pay attention to that stuff?
"A lot of basketball players and athletes deal with it … it's really just something that you have to learn to deal with in your own certain ways. For me, it's about ignoring it and not really reading into it. I know what the truth is and what's going on. It's about focusing on the people around me that are in my circle."
Is that something that you've had to really learn and work with people that you're close to? I have to imagine that it has to be really challenging to ignore all of that.
"It does come with challenges, and you learn over time how you deal with it personally. I think just having a support system around me – people that you're really close with – has really helped with blocking out all the outside stuff."
What advice would you give to an incoming highly touted freshman about navigating the NIL space?
"The biggest thing is getting educated and learning about it yourself so you know what's going on. You have to have people around you that you trust and know are all about the right things so they can help lead you in the right direction and make things easier on you. You want to be able to focus on just playing and be able to do what you love to do."
How is this new partnership with Chime going to help you navigate your finances?
"It's going to help me learn and educate me on the financial aspects of everything. It's a really great tool. It's going to help educate me and continue to grow and learn about finances as it becomes more and more important in my life."
Let's close it out with a really fun question. If you could pick one guy in the NBA, a current player or incoming player, who you can't wait to go up against, who is that player and why?
"I would say Khaman [Maluach]. He's one of my former teammates. I love him, and he's one of my best friends. That would be really cool."
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