One man’s loss is another man’s gain. And that is exactly what is happening to LeBron James’ son Bryce. While Bryce James’ NIL is suffering, what makes it all the more problematic is that his rivals are having a good time. Stagnated at $1.3 million, Bryce has seen his rivals grow from nothing to finally surpass him. And the latest Red Bull deal with his high school rival only makes it all the more difficult for him to get back his throne.

At one point in time, Bryce had the highest NIL among high school basketballers. But ever since an increase of $125K in September, Bryce hasn’t seen much growth. To add to his woes, his high school rival AJ Dybantsa signed a deal with Red Bull, becoming the first male athlete to do so.

“I partnered with Red Bull. Me and Red Bull are now partners. I think it was a great partnership coming. It’s gonna be beneficial for both of us. The platform that they have and I think we fit right in with each other. So it’s gonna be good,” the Utah Prep School star stated on Tuesday. Dybantsa inked the deal on Tuesday that will increase his NIL all the more.

Currently, he is posited at the numero uno spot in the high school basketball athletes’ NIL valuation with $1.9 million. Many opine that Red Bull got to him because of his exceptional skills. His followers believe that even his worst skills are average and better than many of his age, and apparently, he has no weaknesses. In the Nike EYBL, he averaged 22.3 points with 6.7 rebounds per game. This was enough to prove his mettle. Since then, he has had endorsers knocking on his door. But the 17-year-old makes sure to be nitpicky about his deals.

Talking about Red Bull, he opined that “it was good.” Furthermore, he added that he was smart with his NIL selection and Red Bull got him exactly what he was looking for. However, Bryce’s revival looks to be difficult under such conditions.

Bryce James caught up in NIL issues

While Red Bull might have given wings to Dybantsa, it has cut down some for Bryce. LeBron‘s younger son, at the beginning of the year, was sitting atop the high school NIL deals. But soon, he was given a reality check. While other stars continued performing on the court, Bryce couldn’t carry the weight of expectations and gave average performances. Ultimately affecting his NIL.

Bryce meanwhile kept on relying on his exceptional 3.4 million social media following. But as his performances declined, so did the support from his fans. And a time has come when many brands have decided to pursue other high school stars. And once the ON3’s NIL valuation gets updated on Wednesday, critics expect that Bryce will have to climb almost a mountain, as Dybantsa will be far away from him.

Bryce will have to better his balling skills and stand tall for what is expected of him. Plus he will also have to ask his representatives at Klutch Sports to market him well. Dybantsa, as of now, has seen two great spurts in his NIL valuation within a short period of time. When Jeff Goodman had predicted that Bryce would change the way recruitment is done, the Brockton-born’s valuation rose from 951K to $1.9 million. And now with Dybantsa’s other deal, Bryce will surely have a lot of work to do.