4x NBA Champion rips American sports culture’s NIL deals for ‘undisciplined’ young athletes

Former Golden State Warriors player Andre Iguodala made a strong case regarding the NIL deals on the 7 PM in Brooklyn Podcast.

4x NBA Champion rips American sports culture’s NIL deals for ‘undisciplined’ young athletes

Andre Iguodala and Bronny James

The former Golden State Warriors legend, Andre Iguodala has been making the headlines lately for his straightforward slander of the “NIL deals” for young athletes. Iguodala was one of the Warriors’ most consistent players back in his time and won 4 NBA titles in his career. Notably, on the 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast, alongside Carmelo Anthony, Iguodala went all-out on the American sports culture’s NIL deals.

Iguodala claimed on the podcast that NIL deals are “destroying” the upcoming American youth and sports culture. He also claimed that “kids getting paid before maturing in their talent” makes no sense and due to this they don’t get disciplined. It’s interesting to note that the likes of Bronny James and Caitlin Clark, two young stars were tied down with NIL deals.

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The NIL is destroying the entire pipeline of American development because kids are getting paid before they actually maturing in their talent so they don't get disciplined...there's no accountability there's no adversity and adversity is a thing that separates everybody, it's just like who got the thing to work the hardest?
On the 7 PM in Brooklyn Podcast, Andre Iguodala said

Iguodala may be right on his part as players could be at the age of 16 and 17 and be millionaires before they even enter the NBA. This would well and truly kill the thrill of working hard and making yourself a name in the big boys’ league.

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Bronny James was just 17 when he signed his first NIL deal

Before he played at USC, Bronny James had a successful high school basketball career. He was a 4-star recruit out of Sierra Canyon High School. Interestingly, Bronny was only 17 years old when he signed his first NIL deal with PSD, which was a “signature” collection of clothing. In addition, the NBA community had different opinions on this with some claiming young players’ careers may get ruined.

While playing college basketball, he signed big NIL deals, including one with Nike, Beats by Dre as an endorser, and one with PSD underwear. It was reported that his endorsements brought in close to $5 million. One could only argue regarding the money a 17-year-old was earning, hampering his career in the bargain by getting so much money at an early stage.

On the contrary, Bronny was selected as the 55th Draft overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers. Not only that, he also became part of important history, as he and his dad LeBron James are the first father-son duo in the league’s history. It will be intriguing to watch how a former USC player performs in the NBA.

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