NIL has really changed the world of college athletes. While Cooper Flagg can back it, Bryce James again takes a fall. Before Flagg could even represent the Duke Blue Devils, many already consider him a rival to Bryce in the NIL race. The Blue Devil, once trailed by Bryce in April, saw massive growth after he signed with the Creative Artists Agency. He slowly took over Bryce, who was stationed at $1.2 million despite Flagg being at $1.1 million, at that time. As Flagg’s NIL gathered pace, he saw a bump of another $1.1 million on Thursday to disappoint Bryce.

While James Jr., who hasn’t been doing well in the NIL world, as of now, was recently given the shock of his life when AJ Dybantsa surpassed him to snatch his crown in the high school circuit. And Flagg’s Thursday updates would have devastated Bryce, to leave any hope for the youngest James.

Cooper Flagg rockets to $2.6 million

Flagg on Thursday, as mentioned before, saw an increase of $1.1 million in his NIL value. While the exact reason for this is not known, maybe the start of the NBA has come with its own benefits for Flagg. Projected as the number one pick in the 2025 NBA mock draft, teams would be looking to grab him in the subsequent seasons. Considered by many as Zion Williamson’s successor, the chants of his name have amplified in the balling circuits already. He was previously at $1.5 million after he had overtaken Bryce.

Flagg’s NIL value reached $1.4 million this year when he signed with the CAA. It was the first time he was eclipsing Bryce, who had an NIL value of $1.2 million. Flagg then signed with New Balance in August which propelled him to touch the $1.5 million mark. At that time, Bryce could only manage a growth of $125K to inch closer to the $1.3 million mark. From that point onwards, Bryce has been stagnant despite LeBron indirectly promoting him.

A major part of Bryce’s NIL stems from the fact that he is LeBron James‘ son. Bryce has one of the highest followings on social media platforms in high school (around 3.4 million), and a lot of his fans first noticed him because of LeBron. The $1.2 billion net-worth baller provided his representatives to Bryce as the latter signed with Klutch Sports in December 2022. Not only that, in a recent interview when Bryce exclaimed that he could defeat his dad in a 1v1, the Chosen One kept mum, subtly hyping his child. However, as of now, Bryce is finding it difficult to find a way forward as he has suffered a double blow.

Bryce James suffers a double blow

While Bryce was a competitor to Cooper Flagg, he occupied the top spot in the high school NIL list. But his pause has helped other athletes gain an advantage over him and given him a handful of setbacks. The Utah Prep School small-forward AJ Dybantsa has displaced Bryce from his throne with an NIL valuation of $1.9 million, around $600k more than that of Bryce.

If that isn’t enough, 3 other athletes have overtaken him. These are Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, and Nate Ament. Therefore, Bryce occupies the fifth position in the high school NIL. Though Bryce is positioned at the 36th spot in the NIL 100, what stands out for him is his social media following (3.4 million).

Hence, coupled with bettering his on-court performances for visibility in the basketball world, the other thing that can help him is if Klutch Sports gets him to sign more deals for his wider reach. And if LeBron takes the initiative of promoting his son for some time, then it could be the X factor in Bryce’s growth strategy.

Hopefully, Bryce will bounce back soon and be a competitor to Flagg. And perhaps, at the right time, he will also regain his throne as the highest-valued NIL athlete in the high school basketball circuit.