Shaquille O’Neal and Terrell Owens may be gone but it’s a time of new stars like Lonzo Ball, Josh Jackson and D’Angelo Russell who are showing a new generation of young boys they can make money in basketball.
According to ESPN News, three teenagers have recently been offered offers to enroll in collegiate basketball programs in the United States at six-figure salaries.
Despite their underreported contracts, Ball, the 17-year-old son of Lakers legend and basketball Hall of Famer LaVar Ball, reportedly topped the list of money-making offers with NBA star and fellow Southern California native Lonzo Ball, who according to the Hollywood Reporter, received an offer from the University of Kentucky. Josh Jackson, a standout with the Missouri Tigers, and D’Angelo Russell, the 2016 number one overall draft pick for the Los Angeles Lakers, were also able to negotiate payoffs of roughly $4 million and $4.5 million respectively according to ESPN.
O’Neal, the one-time NBA All-Star, is now a YouTube sensation with his series “Shaqtin’ A Fool” which chronicles his solo career. Owens, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player was also talented as a ballplayer. The three juniors are in line for mammoth payoffs due to collegiate NCAA rules. Many current college basketball athletes playing in the NCAA receive $30,000 per year.
While LaVar Ball’s son has top talent and is the top performer, the three youngsters will be subject to NCAA rules and have to play their first years of college ball. Before taking the field with Kentucky and Jackson even had to sit out of the University of Louisville’s program due to NCAA rules.
In 2017 alone more than 2,100 high school athletes are taking advantage of an opportunity that may have been beyond their grasp in the past. See the info below:
The three teenagers just signed one-year renewable contracts with a lot at stake. They have taken the gamble of putting their lives and futures in the hands of professional basketball teams but know they have no rights or protections. Will the team drop the ball? Will they be exposed to professional sports doping or improper treatment of drugs like human growth hormone?