Maine’s Cooper Flagg signs NIL deal with Gatorade

College sports

It’s been a “big year” for the projected No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft.

By Amin Touri, The Boston Globe

October 30, 2024 | 9:18 am

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, a Maine native, signs a NIL deal with Gatorade, becoming the sports drink giant’s first men’s basketball athlete.

The deal was announced Tuesday as Flagg joined women’s basketball stars JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers in Gatorade’s lineup of college athletes.

“This has been a big year for me, both on and off the field, and Gatorade has been there the whole time,” Flagg said in a statement. “From the moment I was named Gatorade Outstanding Male Player of the Year to now officially joining the team, it has been surreal to see my name mentioned among some of the biggest names in basketball.”

The endorsement deals are already pouring in for Flagg before he has even played his first competitive collegiate game. Flagg signed a shoe deal in August with Boston-based New Balance, which has a factory near his hometown in Maine.

Flagg had a team-high 22 points in Duke’s exhibition win over Division 2 Lincoln University, but was fairly quiet in a dominant win over Arizona State.

Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft, will make his regular-season debut in Duke’s opener against Maine on Nov. 4, a game that was scheduled because of Flagg’s connection.

Flagg, the consensus top recruit in the Class of 2024, in which he re-enrolled at Duke as a 17-year-old, has looked like a future NBA star since his freshman year at Nokomis Regional High, where he led the Warriors to led to a great victory. Class A state championship and was named Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year.

Flagg transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida and became the most sought-after recruit in the country. He spent the summer as the only collegiate player named to the USA Select Team, where he attracted plenty of attention from eventual Olympic gold medalists Team USA.