It has become a well-known fact (yes, a fact) that Keaton Wagler is one of the best freshmen in the country, if not one of the best overall players in all of college basketball.
Yet, before this season got well underway, most people had never even heard his name before. That was because, despite his incredible resume coming out of high school, he went drastically under-recruited, even though he was a four-star prospect.
Since he was looked past, for the most part, Illinois and head coach Brad Underwood signed Wagler for a relatively small NIL package, at least, compared to the likes of fellow freshman stars like AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and Darryn Peterson.
Wagler's NIL valuation, to this day, hovers at just about $1.5 million, a far cry from the blockbuster paychecks that people have grown accustomed to hearing for elite athletes.
Wagler's NIL deal significantly lower than Dybantsa, Boozer, etc.
BYU's AJ Dybantsa has the highest NIL valuation of any freshman at $4.2 million, followed by Texas Tech's star junior JT Toppin at $2.8 million. Boozer, who just led Duke to the Elite Eight, signed a $2.2 million deal with the Blue Devils, and Michigan signed both Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg to $2 million deals.
Meanwhile, Wagler is coasting with his $1.5 million NIL package and just took the Illinois Fighting Illini back to the Final Four for the first time in over two decades.
When John Martin broke down the value that Illinois has gained from Wagler compared to what the Illini spent to bring him to Champaign, he had nothing but praise for the star point guard.
"I genuinely think we will never see a value on a roster like Keaton Wagler again," Martin said on his podcast, The Field of 68. "We could play this game 15-20 years from now, and there will not be a better bang for your buck than what Illinois got with Wagler."
Wagler has averaged 17.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game during the Illini's journey to the Final Four, and has played like a genuine veteran athlete while leading Illinois through the Big Dance.
His value has been priceless for Underwood and the team, but it's impossible to deny that it has been worth well more than just $1.5 million.