Kansas State Basketball Star Reveals Frustration on Leaked Details About Record NIL Deal

Coleman Hawkins was one of the most heavily recruited guards in the transfer portal last season.

The 6-9 star was coming off a big season for the Illinois Fighting Illini, and he was looking for a new program for his final season. He landed with the Kansas State Wildcats and did so after he snagged name, image and likeness deals upwards of $2 million, according to published reports.

In fact, that dollar figure hit the internet minutes after Hawkins announced his commitment to the Wildcats.

Statistically, Hawkins’ season was frustrating. He averaged 10.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.8 steals per game. He was injured near the end of the season and missed a few games. He did earn All-Big 12 Conference third-team honors.

When the season ended and Kansas State didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, their coach, Jerome Tang, opted the program out of any other postseason play. So, Hawkins’ college career is over and the NBA awaits.

But, on his way out the door, he had some words about NIL, specifically about the transparency of those contracts. He believes his NIL package’s value never should have been made public in an interview with the Field of 68 podcast.

“Whatever the number was never should have been public,” Hawkins said. “That’s not my fault. I won’t say whose fault it is, but when there is a tweet from (NBA insider) Shams (Charania) and people share your information, that is not cool.”

When the Wildcats were eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament, Hawkins broke down and cried in the locker room at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City. Some of it was due to the finality of the season. Some of it was due to the pressure he felt, and the vitriol he received, from fans due to the price tag of his NIL deal.

He said he dealt with similar things at Illinois. But at Kansas State, he said, that attention went to “another level.”

NIL isn’t going away, nor are the pressures of signing a deal as Hawkins did. Assuming the House vs. NCAA settlement is formally approved, then revenue sharing will come to college athletics, giving players like Hawkins more opportunities to make money.

After that, any NIL deal over $600 would have to be vetted by a clearinghouse to ensure the player is receiving fair market value.

If you ask Hawkins, the details of those deals should be private moving forward.