In revealing interview, KU’s Hunter Dickinson talks myths of NIL and NBA chances
Kansas senior center Hunter Dickinson was part of CBS Sports HQ’s on-site coverage of the Final Four the past several days in San Antonio, providing commentary and analysis on games involving Houston, Duke, Florida and Auburn with sportscasters Tim Doyle and Avery Johnson.
Broadcasting could be in the 7-foot-2, 265-pound Arlington, Virginia native’s future, he conceded as a guest on Monday’s the Field of 68 podcast, but hopefully put on hold until after a long pro basketball career.
“Starting next weekend, I’ll do my pre-(NBA) Draft stuff in L.A. and get ready for the draft, see where that goes,” said Dickinson, who at this time is not included in ESPN’s two-round mock draft despite leading KU in scoring (17.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.0 rpg) during the 2024-25 college hoops season.
“I feel like I’m pretty confident in where I’m at. Obviously, this summer I’m going to put the pedal to the metal, try to grind and really get developed and try to put my best foot forward for the NBA and see what happens. Obviously there are a lot of different career paths I can go to,” the 24-year-old general studies major with a master’s in sports management continued.
“I’ve been playing this game for so long. Obviously I know I’m not the most athletic guy, but if you look at it, the skilled big men are coming back. And I feel like I can really help a team (because of his) IQ. I think I can make players better, especially with screens and stuff like that, getting people open. I think there’s a spot for me in the league.”
Dickinson, who would love to have a lucrative NBA career, discussed finances in the NIL era during the Field of 68 podcast.
“People had no idea what I was making because the numbers I was hearing I was making … you’ve got to cut that in half and then even down a little more,” Dickinson said. “I was like, ‘If I make $2 million I’d be a lot happier. I’d be chillin’ if I was making $2 million.’
“I wish,’’ he added, laughing over rumors he was making $2 million a year.
Dickinson didn’t reveal the amount of money he made the past two seasons at KU through NIL.
“I promise you I didn’t make seven figures,” Dickinson said, adding jokingly, “I need a lawyer to give me another year. “I’m looking at these big men now who are not even averaging double digits and they’re making more than double what I made this year. They are making $2 million … I mean I gave up money. I gave up six figures to come back to help our team get better, because I had a talk with my agent. I was like, ‘Would I rather get the most money out of the portal, or would I rather have a good team?’ And I was like, ‘This my final year, I’d rather have a good team.’”
Dickinson didn’t go into specifics but was implying he surrendered some of his own potential NIL money in order to distribute additional funds to other players for the 2024-25 season.
Dickinson said he understands why there is so much player movement in this NIL era.
“I mean it’s hard to tell a kid who is making 200-grand at a mid-major, ‘Don’t leave and make $1.5 million,’ because the numbers are freaking nuts,” Dickinson said of money going to players this offseason in the transfer portal.
“Obviously everybody thinks Kansas has all this money. We weren’t even in the top 15. We weren’t even probably in the top 25 in NIL spending,” Dickinson stated. “But they came up with the rumor we spent $5 million last year and we’d be on the bus saying, ‘(Bleep), who got the 5?’” he added laughing.
“I’ll say this about our team, we weren’t that good in terms of Kansas standards, but we were really close off the court and and really made fun of the NIL stuff. That’s, I think, how you’ve got to do it. Like, you’ve got to make jokes about what guys are making and stuff like that.”
Dickinson can see a time college players sign multiyear contracts with schools.
“Multiyear contracts I think would benefit the mid-majors the most, because if you get a guy on a 3-year contract for $1.2 (million), paying $400,000 a year, and after the first year, he wants to leave for another school, and then that school wants to commit to him, they (second school) have got to pay that buyout of $800,000 so that they can bring that back into their collective and use for other people. I think that’s the easiest way to try to do that,” Dickinson said.
“Until they (NCAA officials) make any real changes, I know my agency is like, ‘Why would we not have our guys in the portal?’ I mean you see it with coaching. The only reason why I don’t feel bad for mid-major coaching staffs (losing players) now is because, look, if they (coaches) go in there, win their conference, go to the (NCAA) Tournament, win three games, they’re going to leave for a job that pays them triple what they made. The only reason why they’re mad is because they’re not able to make that jump whereas their players are able to.”
Dickinson continued: “I think the easiest thing the NCAA could do is push back the transfer portal. It’s so stupid that they’re able to have guys in the portal while coaches are coaching (portal was open during NCAA tourney). Now mind you, I don’t really feel bad for the coaches that are playing because they’ve been tampering with kids all year, so it’s not like they’re behind on recruits. A lot of the coaches that are playing in the tournament are tampering with kids, so it’s not like they’re behind by any means, but it’s so stupid how you can be in the portal and guys have to try to recruit kids while they’re playing and stuff like that.”
Of his two years at KU after three at Michigan, Dickinson said: “Obviously we weren’t as successful as we wanted to be (losing in second round of NCAAs his senior year and first round in his super senior campaign). Coming in we obviously wanted to compete for not only for conference championships but national championships. We definitely fell short of those goals.
“It’s a different era now. People can’t have the same expectations because it’s a whole new era. Coach (Bill) Self and a lot of other coaches around the country are trying to build brand new rosters every year and trying to make a team of 10 new guys jell together in a matter of three months to get ready for a grueling Big 12 season. It’s tough and it’s hard, but playing in Allen Fieldhouse was a joy and blessing I’ll never take for granted. In my opinion it’s the best home-court in all of college basketball.”
And of Self ...
“It was really a blessing to play for coach Self,” Dickinson said. “He’s a Hall of Fame head coach. I definitely learned a lot from him.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 9:52 AM with the headline "In revealing interview, KU’s Hunter Dickinson talks myths of NIL and NBA chances."
