Current Draft-bound stars have made a pretty penny in NIL deals, unlike some pro-basketball veterans who didn’t get a single penny of the money they brought to their programs. Bronny James is the hottest NIL star with deals collectively worth $4.3 million. Caitlin Clark is the queen of NILs with $3.1 million to her name before she declared for the WNBA draft. More college stars have a better income than NBA pros ever saw in their collegiate careers. If they want to know who to thank for that, it’s Brandon Jennings.

Jennings upset the routine that was the college to pro track. On the Captain Jack podcast, he was pretty chuffed that he started something over two decades ago. “I’m happy about it. I mean, I’m technically, I’m the reason why… if you think about it I was the first one to go overseas.”

As history goes, Adam Silver’s predecessor David Stern brainstormed with NCAA President Myles Brand to establish the one-year rule. The rule stated that draft prospects have to be out of high school for at least a year to go to the NBA draft. The move was to push teens to play at the college level. Jennings pulled a fast one. He skipped college, went to Europe, and got a masterclass playing with Virtus Roma along with a cool $1.65 million. A year in, he came back for the 2009 NBA draft and signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, therefore creating an all-new prep-to-pro trajectory.

How does skipping college make Brandon Jennings responsible for college players earning in NILs? It’s because he sent a message that if you want to see the highly touted high school prospects play, you have to give them their due. The one-year rule mostly benefitted the NBA and NCAA. NBA scouts could observe athletes on the college level and not run the risk of striking gold on the hunt for the next Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard straight out of high school this way. The NCAA would get at least one season off the young athletes’ popularity as well as the D1 program’s notoriety.

Now NIL deals are an incentive to keep star prospects in the NCAA and from pulling a Jennings. Clark might end up taking a significant pay cut as a WNBA rookie too. Bronny James won’t be earning LeBron-levels of salaries immediately. But the NIL earnings will keep them afloat. Jennings loves that these college athletes are getting taken care of.

Brandon Jennings wants young pros to be selfish

The hosts of the Captain Jack podcast are college athletes themselves and Jennings underlined that. “You guys work hard your whole life and, you know, some money in your pocket. .. they make so much money off you.” Jennings has had to defend his decision for most of his career. That’s why he tells college athletes to put themselves first and protect themselves.

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He also reminded that in the case of injuries or other season-ending circumstances, the athlete only has themselves to rely on. “Be selfish,” was his buzzword. He even warned one of the hosts, Ian Jackson, a UNC commit, to remember his advice because once he’s in college, he’ll see people wanting to get a piece of his fame.

READ MORE: College Basketball Queen Caitlin Clark’s NIL Impact Trumps Arch Manning and Travis Hunter’s Influence