We can’t think of anyone in this past year’s draft who fell further and harder than Bol Bol, son of the legendary Manute Bol.
When he declared for the draft, the former Oregon Duck was seen as a fringe lottery pick. Certainly a first round pick at worst. So sliding into the second round was a major surprise.
And now he’s signed a two-year two-way deal with Denver - for $100,000.
He can spend 45 days per season with the Nuggets and those days would be paid on an NBA scale, so he could make a lot more, but there are no guarantees.
Admittedly $50,000 is more than your average college freshman earns but it’s nowhere near what he surely expected to be getting and that’s pre-tax income.
Part of this is because he is 7-2 and rail thin and part of it is probably because he is still rehabbing from his foot injury that forced him to miss most of last season.
Whatever the case, it’s a good argument for not coming out until the demand for your services is high and you are certain to be well paid. Athletes are well compensated but they only have a short window to make money, at most two decade but realistically one and change. He’d have done better to stay at Oregon and make his case and then come out at a higher level next summer. Even a relatively modest $500,00 dollar deal would have made it well worth his while to stay.
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