The NIL, in some ways, leveled the competition. Prior to the introduction of the NIL, college and high school athletes had to suffer since they had limited ways of making money through their trade. But July 1, 2021, changed the landscape and with the signing of deals, players could compete with the stars who were already financially well off. Taking cognizance of the same, LeBron James’s younger son Bryce James stands head to head with Shaquille O’Neal’s son Shaqir O’Neal.

While Bryce James is still in high school at Sierra Canyon, Shaqir is a sophomore at the Texas Southern University. But the two are still comparable thanks to NIL.

Bryce James trumps Shaqir O’Neal in NIL

Bryce has an NIL valuation of $1.2 million as per ON3. He has leveraged his image even though he is just in high school. He has a whopping 1.9 million followers on Instagram and 15.1 K followers on X. He also signed a deal with Klutch Sports, which has been representing him and helping amass more NIL deals.

Meanwhile, Shaqir is 4 years older than Bryce. While Bryce is 17 years old, Shaqir is 21. He plays for the Texas Southern Tigers. Shaqir too has leveraged his social media with a following of 4.3 million. He has 840K followers on Instagram and an exceptional 3.5 million followers on TikTok. 

Shaqir has an NIL valuation of $803K, which is $397K less than that of Bryce’s $1.2 million. Nonetheless, Shaqir occupies the 6th place in college basketball athletes’ NIL valuation. Overall, in the NIL 100, Shaqir is positioned at the 52nd spot, whereas Bryce is placed at 17th. Bryce not only trumps Shaqir but also stands equal to his elder brother Bronny in terms of earnings.

Bryce James to earn as much as Bronny James

Bryce’s elder brother, Bronny James, was picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. As per sources, the ex-University of Southern California Trojans star has the option to participate in the G-League with the South Bay Lakers if the LA Lakers don’t offer him a contract. But as the situation goes, Bronny will be looking to give his best for the Lakers and will have a projected salary of $1.2 million.

Therefore, Bronny will be making as much as Bryce, who has an NIL valuation of $1.2 million. This is one of the examples that demonstrates how NIL has been a life-changing inclusion for many athletes.

Perhaps this is what Bryce needs – to play with passion and improve his NIL value so that he has the option of spending on his game and bettering it along the way. On the other hand, Shaqir will be making sure to capitalize on the market whereas Bronny will look to earn more through endorsements.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.