Originally Posted by
SCMatt33
I think the problem with this reasoning is that except for a very few, who you can just about count on one hand, earning power relates to current star power. Being the best in college basketball for a year or two does not necessarily bring later earnings. First, I don't think that there has ever been a guy who was projected by scouts as a top three pick, but didn't think that he could be a star in the NBA. There are plenty of guys who don't expect to be Kobe or LeBron, but they all expect to be much more than a "solid player."
I think a better analogy would be guys like JJ and Hansbrough. Both could have been certain first round picks, and possible lottery picks after their junior years, but came back for an extra year as the face of college basketball on a championship favorite. For these guys, I don't think their decision mattered all that much in terms of dollars, especially for endorsements. On a national level, I can only come up with one guy, Laettner, who can still earn money based off of what he did in college, and even that is only because he created arguably the all-time greatest college basketball moment in history (an unreasonable expectation for anyone with this decision). Both JJ and Hansbrough built up about as much star power as can be expected in their extra year, but I doubt that it has done too much to add to their endorsement deals. Look at some other recent examples of guys who have come out. John Wall immediately got a national endorsement deal from Reebok because he is expected to be a big deal in the NBA. Evan Turner, who was just as big of a deal on the college level, but had lesser NBA expectations, did not. Look at Blake Griffin. He was a big time star on the college level, but hasn't gotten the national exposure from endorsements until he became a nightly fixture on Sportscenter for his exploits at the NBA level. Jimmer Fredette could probably get a few endorsement deals right now, but come this time next year, everyone will have moved on to the next thing, unless he can somehow (not likely) keep this up at the NBA level.
The reality is that, outside of local car dealership commercials, and a contract to finally put your name on the back of a college jersey, there is little money to be made on being a former college star. Unless the NCAA for some reason accepts the "Jay Bilas model" in which current college players can earn endorsement money, it doesn't make sense from a starpower point of view to return to college. That isn't to say that there aren't possible financial benefits to staying. You can improve your draft stock (if possible) and earn a bigger rookie deal, or polish your game to get off the bench sooner in your career, but I don't think that extra college star power will do too much for your wallet in the long run.