Even though he had one more season of eligibility, Henri Veesaar made the best decision for himself by turning pro, or did he... The Estonian center was supposedly in the mix to receive some huge NIL compensation to stick at UNC for one more season. He spent his first three years at Arizona before transferring to North Carolina last winter. An elbow injury kept him out of the 2023-24 college season.
According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Veesaar could have made between $4-6 million to stay...
By the way, multiple schools tried to lure Henri Veesaar into the portal in the past few weeks by offering him at least $6 million, per multiple sources. UNC's NIL negotiations never approached that range, but the Heels definitely could've cleared $4 million had he opted to stay. https://t.co/WwZMcrEdEy
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 24, 2026
If Veesaar was commanding upwards of $6 million in NIL money on the open market, as well as potentially getting at least $4 million to stay at UNC, what if he does not go in the first round? Should he end up being a top-30 pick in this summer's NBA Draft, it might be worthwhile for Veesaar to have turned pro. In the event he were to fall into the second round, he might have been better off staying...
NIL has its pros and cons, but keeping the best players in school with a brand has to be right up there.
Henri Veesaar reportedly turned down millions to enter the NBA Draft
Frankly, he may just be done with the college game. More school is not for everyone... What is interesting is how Veesaar's draft stock will change throughout the process leading up to it. Again, if he ends up becoming a first-round pick, then it may have been worthwhile for him to have turned pro when he did. Should he end up being a second-round pick, regret may be on the horizon for Veesaar.
The really frustrating part in all this for the Tar Heels is Veesaar would have been the best player on Michael Malone's first team in Chapel Hill. He did his part in getting him a strong supporting cast in the transfer portal. Unfortunately, he will not be part of any starting lineup of theirs moving forward. North Carolina is now left with no choice but to move forward without their former superstar center.
At this time, this news is still fresh and there has not been a ton of time to fully process it. Caleb Wilson turning pro after one season was largely expected, so no harm, no foul. However, the idea behind Veesaar returning to Chapel Hill for one final season is no more. While any NBA general manager could make him a first-round pick, Veesaar probably gave up more money to turn pro.
This kind of feels like Quinn Ewers turning down millions in the portal to go be a seventh-round pick.
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