Scoring over Anthony Davis, guarding LeBron James, and signing a deal with New Balance. These are a few of the accomplishments of the Duke Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg this year. While 2024 started on a high note as he proved his mettle in a scrimmage against Team USA that was bound for the Olympics, his dream run looks to have come to an end, or at least, that is what his haters believe. Flagg who was at one time touted to surpass Bronny James’ NIL burst of $7.2 million, has recently suffered a setback in his NIL valuation as four new millionaires have emerged in the NCAA world, which certainly must be a cause of worry for the 17-year-old.

According to the NIL valuations, the 2025 NBA mock draft No. 1 projected pick has been dealt a 24K blow in the past 10 weeks that has pushed down his valuation to $2.6 million. While considering his high NIL ranking, it might not have affected him that much, but what added to his woes was that four new NCAA stars (Braden Smith, Eric Dixon, PJ Haggerty, and Mackenzie Mgbako) have emerged in the millionaire list.

Cooper Flagg’s dreams set to collapse?

Flagg had signed the NIL deal in August with New Balance which made him one of the top athletes in the NIL game. Plus he signed a deal with the Creative Artists Agency for NIL representation which saw his slow rise in the NCAA. Finally, he got to $2.6 million. However, as stated he had to deal with a 24K blow, contrary to what was expected. As he made his debut for the Blue Devils, fans opined that the five-star recruit would grow in his NIL valuation, considering his short stay at the NCAA would attract a large fan following.

Currently, Flagg is positioned at the top spot in the college basketball NIL rankings and at the fifth in the NIL 100. He has only 899K followers on social media platforms including 828K on Instagram. Comparing him with the other athletes that are ahead of him, the Maine-born is the only freshman. Hence, there is no doubt that his ascent is admirable. But have his glory days come to an end before they really even started?

In the 3 games that he has played for the Jon Scheyer team, Flagg averaged 19 points with 10 rebounds. Therefore, while he is performing to the best of his abilities, the Blue Devils were dealt with hard hands when they plied their trade against the Kentucky Wildcats, losing by a close 77-72 margin.

Despite having a career-high 26 points in that game, he couldn’t save the team. Therefore, it remains to be seen how Flagg will handle tough opponents ahead in the season. And at the same time, four new stars have crowded the NIL space, as Flagg has declined.

Cooper Flagg worried due to unexpected new stars

The four new athletes who are new millionaires in the NIL are Braden Smith, Eric Dixon, PJ Haggerty, and Mackenzie Mgbako. While Smith is a junior at Purdue, Dixon is a redshirted senior at Villanova. Similarly, Haggerty is a redshi9rted sophomore at Memphis, and Mgbakois is a sophomore at Indiana.

As for Smith, he saw a NIL growth of 328K that suddenly made him a millionaire (1.1M) on Thursday. While the exact reason for his new entry into the millionaire’s club isn’t known, it is speculated that the Boilermakers guard’s spectacular performances have helped him. He currently averages 15 points with 9.3 assists per game. On3 ranks him at the 55th spot in the NIL 100.

Dixon saw a growth of 605K which pushed his NIL to $1.2M. The Wildcats forward currently averages a whopping 26.3 points with 8.3 rebounds per game. Certainly, his incredible performance could have helped him climb the NIL ladder, as he ranked at the 47th spot in the NIL 100.

Similarly, Haggerty got a $805K increment in his NIL value as it touched $1.3M. At the moment, he occupies the 45th spot in the NIL 100 and averages a spectacular 27 points per game with 50% field goals.

As for Mgbako, among the four, he has the highest NIL rise of $1.4M. The Hoosiers forward is positioned at the 29th spot in the NIL 100 and averages 24.5 points with 8 rebounds per game. As for his shooting skills, he has an extraordinary 74.1% field goals.

While all four are not anywhere near Flagg, nonetheless, the 5-star-rated recruit needs to be sure to maintain his lead and perform well in the upcoming games. Surely, he already has a name and can definitely improve his visibility to the growing basketball world for a better NIL standing.