A mere 36 seconds into Feb. 20’s marquee matchup between the University of North Carolina and Duke University, college basketball’s most electric player, Zion Williamson, was forced to leave the game after his left Nike shoe literally blew apart and caused the 6-foot-7, 285-pound freshman phenom to go down, slipping awkwardly and injuring his right knee.
Thankfully, Williamson’s injury appears to be less substantial than the breath-seizing video might have made it look. On Thursday, Duke Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski said his star forward had suffered only a minor “grade 1 sprain,” and that Williamson’s status is “day-to-day” and progressing as expected.
When he’s cleared to play, he might not exactly be champing at the bit.
It’s a tough choice for a generational, LeBron James-level talent who’s got a lot to lose and little to gain. According to ESPN, the average ticket price for the Duke-UNC game was $2,663. That’s more than the average ticket for the 2019 NBA All-Star game, more than for UFC’s Khabib vs. Connor McGregor fight, and second only to tickets for the Super Bowl. And Williamson and his fellow players, of course, saw none of the proceeds.
The intensity of March Madness only magnifies this reality. When Duke cut down the nets in the 2009-10 season, Krzyzewski netted a nice $3.75 million championship bonus. Based on how the Williamson-less Blue Devils fared against UNC, it’s unlikely Duke makes it far in March without him. Nevertheless, if Williamson does risk further injury to help Coach K take home his sixth championship, it’ll be Krzyzewski, college basketball’s highest paid coach, and not the freshman, who gets the payday.
Alternatively, Williamson can decide to sit out, practice his free throws, and coast to the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft. The rookie contract for last year’s top pick, Deandre Ayton, included a guaranteed $18 million over two years and a projected $41 million maximum. On top of this, Williamson can look to add a major shoe deal some are estimating as high as $100 million.
It’s an unfortunate paradox that high-profile college athletes such as Williamson and others are made to choose between health and future earnings and participating in the sport that is the primary, if not sole, reason they’re in college. But, thanks to the rent-seeking cartel that is the NCAA and the NBA’s one-size-fits-all “one-and-done” rule, it’s about the only choice these players get to make.
I don’t know whether Williamson, for his part, will choose to sit or play. But until the system stops forcing star athletes to spin their wheels in college for a year, expect to see a lot more stars idling on the bench. And when that happens, blame the system, not the players.
