Mark J. Rebilias/Imagn
In the new era of NIL in college sports, it’s not uncommon for billionaires to donate money to their alma mater in hopes of landing superstar athletes. In fact, in the case of someone like Oracle founder Larry Ellison, sometimes they donate to schools they have no formal affiliation with. But one thing we don’t hear much about is former athletes donating back to the programs they were once apart of.
Los Angeles Clippers superstar James Harden is one of the exceptions to that rule. Front Office Sports reports that Harden provided his Arizona State Sun Devils with a small fortune in order to help them land 2025 five-star recruit Jayden Quaintance, who had been committed to Kentucky before John Calipari left for Arkansas.
His investment hasn’t exactly paid off. Quaintance, who at just 17 will have to play another year before he can enter in the NBA Draft, averages just 9.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for the 13-14 Sun Devils, who went just 14-18 a year ago. Which is why fellow NBA stars believe Harden and anybody else who spends large amounts of money on NIL are getting scammed.
NBA Players Believe James Harden Is Making A Mistake With NIL Spending
“You want me to pay $250,000 just to get a guy to come play for my school?” an anonymous NBA All-Star asked Front Office Sports. “And then I have to watch them potentially average five points per game and come off the bench? The market for this stuff is crazy.”
Players are more than willing to help elsewhere. FOS reports that several stars have donated money to have practice facilities built and named in their honor. But NIL is a bridge too far.
“Why would you invest your money in something that isn’t regulated,” Richard Jefferson asked. ” “You put money into a pool and you can give a kid a million dollars, and the next year someone can offer him $1.1 million at another school, and he can just go.”
But Harden doesn’t see things the same way.
“NIL nowadays is the most important thing,” he said. “Because kids want to be compensated for their play and their work, which makes sense. I wanted to be a part of helping the team and the school get players … and if NIL is the problem, then I can help with that.”
Harden is set to make in the ballpark of $33.6 million from the Clippers this year. So it’s not like he’ll miss the money. But it’s clear his fellow NBA stars don’t see the value in his investment.