College Basketball Star's NIL Deal Revealed With Intriguing Clause

After choosing to withdraw from the 2025 NBA draft, Memphis Tigers star shooting guard PJ Haggerty is transferring to the Kansas State Wildcats.

Players electing to return for a final college basketball season has become the norm in the NIL landscape.

Unfortunately, so is negotiating without an agent, as Field of 68's Jeff Goodman reports Haggerty elected not to hire one but probably should have, as he received less than the $4 million his dad was reportedly asking for in the transfer portal.

Despite this, Haggerty successfully negotiated an impressive deal with the Wildcats, which includes an intriguing escalator that may become more prominent in college sports.

Should More NIL Contracts in College Sports Contain Incentives?

Dan Morrison with On3 Sports broke down the contract details for Haggerty, which is reportedly up to $2.5 million.

According to Morrison's report, that's a $2 million base deal with $500,000 in incentives.

As Goodman reported, Haggerty was seeking twice that base amount in an NIL deal, but that ultimately oversold his market value.

Now, perhaps with an agent, he could have gotten a better deal, or at least guaranteed that additional $500,000.

It presents a potential solution for teams that are attempting to shape up their college athletic departments in preparation for the revenue-sharing era.

The details surrounding Haggerty's incentives aren't outlined, but presumably, it would follow the contracts of NFL players that receive pay bumps for playoff appearances, Pro Bowl honors, a certain number of snaps, and more creative avenues.

It also seems to skirt the line of paying for play without clarification on the incentives.

Perhaps it's tied in to postseason success, as the Wildcats didn't make the NCAA Tournament last season and aren't expected to be outright contenders this year.

This strategy not only appears to buy time for Kansas State to generate additional revenue for the contract, but it also represents a potential instance of cap management, which will start to influence the sport as the House settlement approval approaches.

Players frequently have bonuses in NIL deals for things like bowl game appearances in college football, as the transfer portal has decimated teams by the time the postseason comes.

If that's the idea with Haggerty's deal, it is a smart play for spreading out resources and a strong way to gain a competitive advantage in player acquisition.

It bolsters a player's buy-in if his contract success is tied to that of the team and correlates with resources streaming in when they pay off on the court.