Cooper Flagg won’t be at Duke long, but he’s piling up NIL deals while he is

Cooper Flagg won’t be at Duke for very long, but he’s piling up NIL deals while he is.
The 6-foot-9 Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, has signed a partnership with Gatorade, it was announced Tuesday. He joins USC’s Juju Watkins, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and UConn’s Paige Bueckers in signing with the sports drink company, as reported by On3.com. He is the first men’s basketball player to sign with Gatorade.
“This has been a big year for me on and off the court, and Gatorade has been there the whole way,” Flagg said in a statement. “From being named the Gatorade Best Male Player of the Year to now officially joining the team, it’s been surreal to have my name mentioned with some of the biggest names in basketball. The Gatorade roster is iconic, and I’m excited to work with them as I take this next step.”
Flagg this week also announced an NIL partnership with Cort Furniture, a cross-country moving company that furnished an apartment for Flagg and his parents, Kelly and Ralph, at Duke.
In August, Flagg signed a ” significant shoe endorsement deal” with New Balance even though Duke is a Nike school. Flagg is required to wear Nike on court at Duke and anything team related. Off court he can wear anything he likes.
Flagg olds an NIL valuation of $2.6 million, ranking No. 1 in college basketball, per On3.com.
The fact that he signed with a furniture moving company is appropriate considering he could wind up anywhere from Brooklyn to Washington to Detroit or elsewhere next year as the No. 1 pick.
“I just think he has this ‘it’ factor that you can’t explain where he just makes everybody around him better and his unselfishness when your best player’s not searching for stats, it has such an amazing impact on the rest of your team,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Sunday night after his team blew out Arizona State in an exhibition in response to a question from NJ Advance Media.
“And that’s what he does. He guards whoever you ask him to, he’s pushing the break, the ball flowed through his hands, I thought he had a good game but still he’s got way more in him.”
Flagg only figures to be on campus for nine months or so, and is trying to make the most of his time there.
“Yeah, I mean it’s been great to just be with my teammates going through this part of my life,” Flagg told NJ Advance Media in the locker room after the Arizona State game.
“It’s something you only get to go through once, being a freshman in college, so I’ve had a really good time with it.”
He said he enjoys “hanging out with my teammates in the dorms” and “bonding with them and getting closer” and also likes playing golf with his teammates.
Asked who wins, he said, “Me, I’m kind of the top dog….We don’t have a lot of golfers.”
Added Scheyer: “Cooper’s present every single day, every single day enjoying it. And he’s got a lot to worry about after this, but I just want him in the moment and that’s what he’s done.”
Flagg is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2024 after reclassifying from the 2025 class. He is the projected No. 1 pick in next year’s draft, ahead of Rutgers stars Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper.
One NBA scout recently told NJ Advance Media: “Everyone has Cooper Fever, [but Bailey] will challenge Cooper for No. 1.
“It’s not clear cut.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.