$62 Million Earning Cooper Flagg Can Only Spend $180K on First Car

Cooper Flagg comes from a basketball family, where his parents, mother Kelly, and father Ralph, played in college, and his two brothers are also trying to get into the NBA.

The Dallas Mavericks’ rookie is the first to earn a professional contract after he signed a 4-year, $62.7 million deal after the franchise selected him No. 1 overall at this year’s draft.

That happens to be the richest rookie contract to date, and dwarfs those from other leagues, which pay a lot less than what one can earn in the NBA. Flagg can go on to earn more, with some believing he could end up earning $1 billion in paychecks from basketball alone.

Every player’s target is to earn the second contract, as that would cement their financial status as they would earn generational income. Many players have failed to garner that second major contract despite coming in with a lot of hype.

Maybe Flagg’s mother has read a lot about NBA athletes going broke. That is why she doubled down on a limit to what her son should spend on luxury goods.

The mother-son duo appeared on an interview with Chime, where they asked the rookie how he looks at financial progress in his life, now that he has a massive rookie contract on his desk.

I’m not a big spender. Obviously, I’m excited to get my own vehicle.

Cooper Flagg replied

Hearing this, Kelly Flagg interjected:

Do not buy a Bugatti right away,

Kelly Flagg said

The 18-year-old then went on to say that he understands the responsibility to be careful with money, but reiterated that he does not like to spend much on cars.

Cooper Flagg’s mother sets the limit for luxury spending

After this segment, the hosts of Chime handed out whiteboards to both Cooper Flagg and his mother, and asked what would be the most the Dallas Mavericks’ star should spend on a car.

While the former Duke star wrote down $200,000, his mother, Kelly, wrote $180,000 as the most her son should spend on his first car. She does not want him to spend a lot of money on things that erode in value.

However, Kelly Flagg was supportive when her son mentioned that he wanted to have a golf simulator at his new home in Dallas, Texas. She believes he loves playing golf, and it would be a good way to unwind after a basketball game.

She had similar opinions about his desire to have a gaming setup at home, as she knows he likes to have his friends over and spend time with them. However, she did not feel it was worth it to buy a designer wallet.

Mama Flagg standing on business 😂

(Via @Chime) pic.twitter.com/VPDPctOjYF

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 16, 2025

When Cooper Flagg tried to reason that it would be a part of his fit, his mother argued that no one would know he had one, as men’s wallets are generally inside their pockets.

Cooper Flagg’s mother recalls how they stretched their budgets to help her son fulfill his hoop dreams

During this conversation, Cooper Flagg and his mother, Kelly Flagg, were asked how it was when she and her husband had to help her son realize his basketball dreams.

We didn’t have a lot of money, and we stretched the dollar as far as we could to make sure they had everything they needed to travel out of state, stay in hotels. Those things add up and caused our weekly budgets to shrink. Our goal was always to make sure our kids didn’t feel that.

Kelly Flagg said

She then revealed that those experiences have helped her sons remain grounded despite the Duke star’s NIL deals. To help them stay that way, she wants her son to ensure he focuses on basketball instead of spending all or most of his first paycheck.

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