Former North Carolina big man Armando Bacot became a poster boy for NIL at the college basketball level over his last three seasons in Chapel Hill. The two-time All-American started a merchandise store, signed numerous sponsorship deals and appeared in a Netflix show after the NCAA enacted new NIL laws on July 1, 2021. He revealed he raked in more than $2 million as a college athlete during a recent interview with Theo Pinson on the Run Your Race podcast.
“I had no clue,” Bacot said regarding NIL coming into effect midway through his college career. “I didn’t know what I was doing. You go from [making no money] to being a millionaire fast. It was crazy. We didn’t realize it. I made $2 million-plus. I’m saying that humbly, though. That speaks of the brand at North Carolina. If I didn’t go to North Carolina, I wouldn’t have been doing those deals at Turbo Tax and others.”
Bacot credited the North Carolina brand with giving him the opportunity to earn a “life-changing” sum of money as a student-athlete. He urges future basketball recruits to consider the Tar Heels for that reason.