Hunter Dickinson reportedly prioritizing guaranteed NIL money in transfer decision

Former Michigan center Hunter Dickinson’s journey in the transfer portal now has another twist to it.

According to Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones, things aren’t looking great between Dickinson and the Kentucky Wildcats because Kentucky isn’t Dickinson a set sum of NIL money.

On3 NIL reporter Pete Nakos had an interesting take on the matter that sums up the situation perfectly.

“In the case of Hunter Dickinson, we’re seeing all sides of NIL,” Nakos said. “Kentucky is making it clear the dollars will flow after his commitment. Other schools are opting to possibly go the route of drafting contracts before he actually shows up on campus. Screw the ‘Wild West’ moniker, this is the norm in college sports in 2023.”

As things currently stand, Dickinson wouldn’t have even been selected this year in the NBA Draft if he opted to turn pro. NIL money as a collegiate athlete is more important for him than some other players who are guaranteed big paydays as a pro.

To this point, Dickinson has been a good college basketball player who NBA scouts aren’t high on. Further, Dickinson has a solid social media presence and fans are interested in his antics and what he’ll say next, which is effective from an NIL perspective. On the court performance matters in terms of NIL dollars, but being a marketable personality matters nearly just as much.

Dickinson has taken recruiting visits to Kentucky, Kansas, Villanova, and Maryland. Kentucky has been perceived as the favorite to land his services, but perhaps Kansas or another school will give Dickinson a guaranteed offer he can’t refuse. The only one who knows how this is going to play out is Dickinson, an unpredictable big man that averaged 17.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game during his Michigan career.