This Christmas, Santa is gifting things that keep on giving! At least for some. As everyone returns home for the holidays to rest and recharge a bit before continuing their playing schedule, the joy for two college basketball players seems to be a bit more than the rest. Although men’s college hoops’ top earner Cooper Flagg can boast a rising stock, it’s AJ Dybantsa – someone who has not even stepped into college yet – who’s leading the charge with his NIL earnings.

When the Utah Prep senior announced his college choice for 2025, most news headlines implied the same meaning – “The No. 1 prospect in high school basketball chose…BYU? Over schools like Alabama, North Carolina, and Kansas?”

Dybantsa gets to stay in Utah this way, sure, but he was also reportedly offered a $5 million NIL deal to join Brigham and he’s going to far surpass Flagg, the current top earner in men’s basketball. Per On3, Dybantsa’s value has now risen to a massive $3.8 million.

As recently as Dec. 20, Dybantsa’s NIL value was $2.8 million. With a brand contract with Red Bull and Nike, the latter worth a reported $4 million, the Utah Prep seems locked into BYU for the money, some say.

But business advisor, former NBA agent Leonard Armato, actually told CBS Sports that every school offered him the same money. That did not influence his choice. The athlete himself spoke up that the coach and the program’s belief in him were the primary contributors to the decision. Either way, Dybantsa remains above Cooper Flagg in terms of NIL value.

Flagg’s stock rose too, of course – previously at $2.7 million and then $2.9, the Duke standout is now valued at $3.3 million per On3. The Gatorade Player of the Year has a deal with the energy drink brand and also has deals with New Balance and Cort Furniture. However, the reason for the recent hike is not out yet.

The Blue Devils’ freshman has been delivering exactly what was expected of him, and even though neither Flagg nor Dybantsa may be Shedeur Sanders or Travis Hunter, the 17-year-olds are living quite the life.

Where Dybantsa is the No. 1 prospect in high school, Flagg is projected as the No. 1 NBA draft pick in 2025. Interestingly, neither of them is expected to play more than one season of college basketball before moving on to the pro leagues. But both have been doing this for a while, and both have won the Gatorade Player of the Year in some way.

While the black clouds followed Dybantsa right after his college decision was out, he found a way to shut down the noise completely. Rather than keeping the prize money, the BYU commit decided to donate it.

Ace Dybantsa advised AJ Dybantsa to play basketball for his passion, not money

The first time AJ Dybantsa got paid for his basketball skills, he didn’t keep it. He was 14 years old and had just won the title of Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school freshman.

The cash prize was $1,000 and he kept insisting that he didn’t even get good at basketball until a year before. So his dad told him, “Do it for your heart. Don’t take the money. That will come later.”

AJ and his family had visited Brazzaville, the capital of Congo, and his father Ace’s hometown at 4 years old. The parents focused on teaching their son the importance of giving back to the community, so when AJ received his first prize money, he knew what had to be done.

“Don’t take anything for granted,” Dybantsa told The Athletic recently. “People are less fortunate and don’t have what we have. If I continue this route, I’m going to get a lot more money than that. So, I might as well just donate (that check) back to the community.”

His ideology may be in stark contrast to what is popularly believed to be his thought process behind picking BYU. While of course many would suggest that colleges should be spending money wisely for players who are still only prospects and have not actually played in college yet, it seems like AJ Dybantsa is one who inspires schools to gamble it all!