Maine’s Cooper Flagg signs NIL contract with Gatorade

college sports

This year has been a “big year” for him, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft.

Cooper Flagg, a freshman at Duke and a native of Maine, has signed a NIL contract with Gatorade, becoming the sports drink giant’s first men’s college basketball player.

The deal was announced Tuesday as Flagg joins women’s basketball stars JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers in Gatorade’s lineup of college athletes.

“This has been a big year for me on and off the court, and Gatorade has been there the entire time,” Flagg said in a statement. “From being named Gatorade Men’s Player of the Year to officially joining the team, it was an incredible feeling to have my name mentioned among the biggest names in basketball.”

Even before Flagg participated in his first official university game, endorsement contracts began flowing into Flagg’s hands. In August, Mr. Flagg signed a shoe contract with Boston-based New Balance, which has a factory near his hometown in Maine.

Flagg scored a team-high 22 points in Duke’s win over Division II Lincoln University, but was pretty quiet in the blowout win over Arizona State.

Flagg, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft, will make his regular season debut in the main game of Duke’s opening game on Nov. 4, which was scheduled at Flagg’s rim.

Flagg, the consensus top player in the Class of 2024 who reclassified to attend Duke University at age 17, looked like a future NBA star since his freshman year at Nokomis Regional High School, where he led the Warriors to a championship. led to. Won the Class A state championship and was named Maine Gatorade Player of the Year.

Flagg transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida and blossomed into one of the most sought-after recruits in the country. He spent the summer as the only collegiate player selected to the U.S. selection team, and garnered a lot of attention as he faced off against the eventual Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. team.