One of the top names in the class of 2025 is that of Kiyan Anthony. Carmelo Anthony’s son is on the verge of committing to a college and will announce his decision on November 15. And since he will be spending time in the NCAA for at least a year, Kiyan hopes to do everything in his control to improve his NIL. Unfortunately, did one of his decisions backfire?
Earlier this week, Kiyan signed an agreement with WME for NIL representation. The company posted on social media, “Anthony, the top-ranked player in New York for the 2025 recruiting class, is a pure bucket-getter who led the NBPA Top 100 Camp in scoring this past June, averaging 28.5 points per game. Kiyan ranked 11th in scoring in this year’s Nike EYBL, averaging 19.6 points per game along with 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest for Team Melo. Welcome to the family, Kiyan!”
La La Anthony, who had signed with the same company in June, was happy to see her son come on board. She took to social media and reacted, “Let’s gooooo🔥🔥🔥🔥.” However, just hours after signing with WME, his NIL saw a decline.
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Kiyan, who had a NIL valuation of $1.1 million, saw a $22K decline in Week 10—that’s a 2% decline, as per On3. The exact reason for this fall isn’t known. However, On3 calculates a player’s value with the help of four aspects:
- Performance
- Influence
- Exposure
- Deal Data
So, we can only speculate that one of these aspects led to the decline.
The 17-year-old occupies the 11th position in the high school college basketball NIL rankings, as per On3. Plus, Kiyan is now placed at the 57th spot in the NIL 100. So his NIL fall comes as a shock since Kiyan has been in the news consistently for some time regarding his college commitment. Therefore, it was expected that the exposure would only boost his NIL, but contrary to expectations, Kiyan has lost some money.
While Kiyan’s NIL fell after the deal with WME, the company’s parent company, Endeavor Group Holdings, is going private and will be acquired by the equity firm Silver Lake Capital, and the value of the acquisition is said to be $13 billion.
Well, all said and done, Kiyan will soon make a decision regarding his college career and that could have a big impact on his NIL, too.
Kiyan Anthony will reveal his decision on November 15!
When WME signed Kiyan, they were as happy as one can get. Announcing the decision on Instagram, they referred to how he was an attractive prospect for a number of colleges. However, Kiyan finally shortlisted Syracuse, Auburn, and USC. And fans are eagerly waiting for the Long Island Lutheran guard to announce his decision.
The four-star recruit, who was recently on Angel Reese’s podcast, said he would share his decision in ‘two weeks’. The revelation will happen alongside his father on the ‘7PM in Brooklyn’ podcast on November 15.
Now, many expect the kid to pick Syracuse, owing to his father’s legacy there. Back in 2003, Carmelo Anthony led them to a national championship as a freshman. And over the years, he has donated huge amounts to the program, and hence, their facility bears his name. Naturally, it seems like the best choice for him. But Anthony has left the decision to his son.
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“[My father] never pushes me to go to Syracuse just because his name is on the gym,” Anthony told ESPN in September. “He did so much at Syracuse. He knows that I’m my own person. I’ve just got to make my own decision at the end of the day.”
It will be interesting to see what choice Kiyan Anthony makes and how much he can further make through the NCAA. What do you think?
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Is following in La La Anthony's footsteps proving detrimental for Kiyan's basketball future?
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Is following in La La Anthony's footsteps proving detrimental for Kiyan's basketball future?
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