Hunter Dickinson Implies NIL Drove His Transfer From Michigan 

Former Michigan basketball star Hunter Dickinson has implied that NIL compensation was a driving force behind his decision to transfer to the University of Kansas.

“The people hating on me would leave their job right now for a $10,000 increase,” Dickinson said on the Barstool Roundball Podcast. “I got, at Michigan, less than six figures. I got less than six figures at Michigan for the year.”

Dickinson was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten player in his three seasons for the Wolverines and was named a consensus second-team All-American in 2021. As a junior, he averaged 18.5 and 9 rebounds per game for Michigan last season.

Dickinson transferred to Kansas earlier this month, a move he called “selfish.” He also had offers from Kentucky, Villanova, Maryland, and Georgetown. 

“I still do love Michigan. I still love the school and everything. I love the program. That’s why it was so hard to leave because I really didn’t want to leave; I didn’t. But I just felt like man, it was the best decision for me,” Dickinson said. “I did have a legacy there, and I basically gave that up to try to be selfish and do what’s best for me and my career, not what’s best for anybody else’s career.”

While speaking at last week’s Jr. NBA Conference in New York City, WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes and former NBA star Richard “Rip” Hamilton voiced concerns about NIL profits being a deciding factor for college athletes during the recruitment process.

“When your ultimate goal is to make it to the NBA, you’re going to look back at what you made off NIL as pennies on the dollar,” Hamilton told Front Office Sports. “When I look at the negatives [of NIL] I always say don’t choose a school because of the money. You look at the infrastructure, the coaching, style of play — stuff that can get you to the next level.”

“To me, college recruiting has now become, what type of NIL deal can you get for me,” Swoopes said. “It’s not choosing the school because it’s the right school for you, the right coach for you, the style of play. Those are the things I looked at when I decided what school I was going to go to. Now the first question is, how much money do you have?

“I think [NIL] has really changed the game; to me, it’s taken away from what sports is all about,” Swoopes added. “To me, it’s about the competition, the excitement, the friendships. Now you throw tons of money in the mix; it just changes the game.”