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Henri Veesaar passed up an NIL payday to enter the NBA Draft.
North Carolina basketball player Henri Veesaar was not selected in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. He will likely be picked early in the second round on Wednesday.
His draft slot will have a value much lower than the earnings he could have earned in college. Veesaar has turned down massive offers from NIL to turn professional.
While the draft drop was unexpected, his future pay cut should come as no surprise. Money was not the motivating factor in the center’s decision-making. He prioritized development over a salary.
Henri Veesaar is chosen in the NBA Draft.
He is considered a Top 30 prospect. Most mock drafts projected a late selection in the first round. He’ll finish a few spots behind those predictions, but should hear his name called early in Round 2.
Veesaar was a star in his lone season at North Carolina. The big man averaged 17 points per game and 8.7 rebounds. That came after a three-year stint in Arizona.
Veesaar redshirted as a sophomore. If he wanted to, he could have returned to college for one final season. North Carolina reportedly could have offered $4.5 million. Other suitors are said to have gone through the transfer portal for as much as $6 million.
UNC’s Henri Veesaar will not be selected in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. He slides into the second round.
Did you turn down between $3 and 4 million to return to UNC? Maybe more?
— Ross Martin (@RossMartinNC) June 24, 2026
He rejected those deals to join the NBA. Veesaar declared in April after the Tar Heels’ season ended in the NCAA Tournament.
He knew he was going to take a pay cut.
Or at least, he should have. There is always the possibility that he received bad advice. It seems unlikely.
Henri Veesaar was never considered a candidate for the Top 20 NBA Draft. While the college results of other projected upperclassmen like Thomas Haugh and Braylon Mullins might have provided a path up the board, it was unlikely he would be selected with one of the first 20 picks.
The latest mock drafts had him at No. 25 on the Lakers. That position did not change from ESPN’s April projections. In March, CBS predicted he would go No. 27 to the Celtics.
So let’s look at the best-case scenario. Slot No. 25 has a value of $16.3 million rookie scale. That equates to an average salary of about $4.08 million over four years. His rookie salary would have been the lowest of those four seasons.
Last year’s 25th pick, Jase Richardson, signed a $15.3 million deal with Orlando. His first-year salary was just under $3 million.
All these totals are lower than the reported NIL deals previously offered to Veesaar. It is clear that the further he slides, the more money he loses. The next available NBA Draft slot is likely to be worth less than $10 million (over four years).
However, money did not play the biggest role in Veesaar’s decision. He valued development and future growth in the NBA.
UNC star Henri Veesaar says at the NBA Draft Combine there is no chance he will return to school.
“I feel like this is exactly the right thing to do, basketball-wise. By going to the NBA, it will help me develop more, get better basketball faster, better than staying in college.” pic.twitter.com/F1wVJ5mmki
— Isaac Trotter (@Isaac__Trotter) May 13, 2026
Veesaar doesn’t believe he would have received the best coaching and opportunity to refine his skills at the college level. He wanted to go to the NBA regardless of the financial consequences.
Henri Veesaar dropped a lot of money to enter the NBA Draft. He will make less money as a newcomer than he did in college. It’s an obvious fact, evident from the jump. He knew all along that he would take a pay cut.
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